/XL 


THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


A    MONOGRAPH 


BY  JOHN    SWETT 


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or  TMI 

{   UNIVERSITY  ) 

or 


PUBLISHED     BY 

DEPARTMENT  OF  EDUCATION 
CALIFORNIA  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE   EXPOSITION 
=  COMMISSION 


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THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


BY  JOHN  SWETT 


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UNIVERSITY 


The  Elementary  Schools  of  California 

By  JOHN  SWETT 


California  was  admitted  <as  a  State  (1850)  without  the  usual  pre- 
liminary stage  of  a  territorial  government.  The  State  Constitution,' 
framed  and  adopted  by  the  people  in  1849,  provided  for  the  election  of  a 
State  Superintendent  of  public  instruction  by  direct  popular  vote,  for  a 
term  of  three  years;  made  it  the  duty  of  the  legislature  to  "provide  for 
a  system  of  common  schools  by  which  a  school  should  be  kept  up  in  each 
school  district  at  least  three  months  in  every  year";  and  that  the  proceeds 
of  all  land  grants  made  by  the  general  government  in  aid  of  schools 
si  ion  Id  be  "inviolably  appropriated  to  the  support  of  common  schools 
throughput  the  State."  Thus  was  laid  the  legal  foundation  of  common 
schools  in  California.  From  the  record  of  proceedings  it  appears  that 
the  opinion  prevailed  in  the  Constitutional  Convention  that  these  land 
grants  would  prove  to  be  of  immense  value;  that  the  lands  would  be 
located  in  mineral  regions,  and  sold  for  fabulous  sums;  that  the  school 
fund  derived  from  such  sales  would  be  the  most  munificent  in  the  world  ; 
that  it  would  be  more  than  sufficient  to  educate  all  the  children  in  the 
State  and  would  eventually  prove  a  source  of  corruption  and  speculation. 

The  hind  grant  section  of  the  Constitution,  adopted  in  committee  of 
the  whole,  was  carried  by  a  majority  of  only  one  vote.  As  a  matter  of. 
plain  fact  the  total  amount  of  school  money  derived  from  the  much 
debated  land  grant  of  five  hundred  thousand  (500,000)  acres  was  only 
about  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars. 

THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  SCHOOLS. 

But  before  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution,  before  the  assembling  of 
a  State  legislature,  the  people  of  American  descent  took  matters  into 
their  own  hands  and  began  to  establish  schools  of  various  kinds  after  ihe 
manner  of  their  forefathers  in  colonial  times.  Wherever  a  score  of 


children  could  be  gathered  together,  a  private  school  was  started  by  some 
teacher  who  was  paid  by  tuition  fees.  As  soon  as  churches  were  organi/ed. 
%  denominational  schools  were  opened  in  connection  with  them  or  under 
their  auspices,  and  oftentimes  taught  by  clergymen.  Parochial  schools 
sprang  up  in  San  Francisco,  Sacramento  and  other  small  centers  of 
population.  Then  a  few  public  schools,  established  under  no  authority 
of  law  except  that  of  local  town  officers,  began  to  make  their  appearance. 
In  the  town  of  San  Francisco  (1847)  a  school  committee  of  the 
"Town  Council"  built  a  small  one-room  school  house  on  the  town  plaza, 
and  a  number  of  townsmen  held  a  meeting  and  elected  the  first  "school 
committee''  in  California,  who  proceeded  to  appoint  Thomas  Douglass. 
from  Yale  College,  as  teacher,  and  the  school  opened  with  six  pupils  in 
April,  1848.  This  was  a  school  under  public  control,  but  supported  by 
tuition  fees.  Before  the  school  was  fairly  under  headway,  gold  was 
discovered  at  Coloma,  schoolmaster  Douglass  joined  in  the  general  stam- 
pede for  "the  diggings,"  and  the  school  came  to  an  end.  In  December. 
1849.  John  C.  Pelton  opened  a  school  supported  by  "voluntary  sub- 
scription" but  free  to  "the  children  of  the  poor."  This  school  was  made 
a  public  school  by  ordinance  of  the  common  council,  April  8,  1850,  and 
Mr.  Pelton  was  appointed  teacher  in  which  position  he  remained  until 
September,  1851,  when  common  schools  were  established  in  accordance 
with  State  law. 

THE  EVOLUTION  OF  STATE  SCHOOL  LAWS. 

The  first  State  legislature  (1849-50)  held  after  the  adoption  of  the 
State  Constitution,  enacted  no  law  whatever  to  carry  into  effect  the 
constitutional  provisions  relating  to  education.  At  the  second  legislative 
session  (1850-51)  a  very  primitive  school  law  was  enacted  providing  for 
the  subdivision  of  counties  into  school  districts;  for  a  district  board  of 
school  trustees,  three  in  number,  elected  annually  for  the  term  of  one 
year,  by  direct  popular  vote  of  school  district  electors.  These  hoards 
were  given  power  to  build  school  houses,  but  they  had  no  power  to  levy 
a  tax  for  building  purposes.  They  could  examine  teachers  and  i»ue 
|  certificates  "valid  for  one  year";  appoint  teachers  for  the  ''term  of  one 
lyear/'  and  pay  their  salaries  when  the  money  should  come  in  from  the 
mythical  State  school  fund.  These  boards  were  required  to  report 
directly  to  the  State  School  Superintendent  at  the  end  of  each  school  year. 
Though  as  a  matter  of  fact  there  was  no  "State  school  fund"  in  existence. 
!  this  nebulous  school  law  provided  for  the  distribution  of  the  interest  on 
said  fund  to  the  counties  according  to  the  number  of  school  census 
children.  Furthermore,  this  peculiar  ,  school  law  provided  that  the 


5 

interest  'on  the  "State  School  Fund"  should  be  apportioned  not  to  public 
schools  only,  but  also  to  "sectarian  and  denominational  schools,  orphan 
ayslunis  and  almshouse  schools."  Over  this  latter  provision  there  was  a 
running  legislative  warfare  which  was  not  ended  until  1861. 

This  abortive  school  law  made  no  provision  whatever  for  district, 
county  or  State  school  taxes,  but  left  the  schools  dependent  on  rate  bills, 
tuition  fees,  and  subscriptions,  until  the  appearance  of  the  dazzling 
"State  School  Fund"  to  be  derived  from  the  future  sales  of  congressional 
land  grants. 

The  succeeding  legislature  (1851-52)  amended  the  school  law  by 
authorizing  counties  to  levy  a  school  tax  "not  to  exceed  three  cents  on 
a  hundred  dollars."  It  also  made  the  county  treasurers  ex-officio  county,  • 
school  superintendents  for  the  purpose  of  apportioning  the  beggarly 
pittance  thus  obtained.  These  legislators  evidently  considered  the  com- 
mon schools  to  be  "charity  schools"  for  the  education  of  the  children  of 
the  poor. 

The  legislature  of  1852-53  amended  the  school  law  by  providing 
that  cities  should  have  power  to  raise  by  tax  whatever  amount  of  money 
\vas  necessary  for  school  purposes;  that  counties  could  levy  a  school  tax 
not  to  exceed  five  cents  on  a  hundred  dollars;  and  that  religious  and 
sectarian  schools  should  receive  a  pro  rata  share  of  the  "school  fund." 
In  1852  the  total  number  of  public  schools  in  the  State  was  twenty  (20), 
with  an  enrollment  of  3,311  pupils.  The  number  of  school  census 
children  was  reported  as  17,821.  In  1853  there  were  111  schools  with 
an  average  attendance  of  2.020  pupils.  In  1851  there  were  168  schools 
with  an  attendance  of  4,635. 

In  1854  there  was  no  school  legislation,  but  in  1855  the  school  law 
was  revised  and  materially  improved.  This  law  provided  for  the  election 
of  County  Superintendents  by  popular  vote  and  defined  their  duties; 
empowered  incorporated  cities  to  raise  a  school  tax  not  exceeding  twenty- 
five  cents  on  a  hundred  dollars;  provided  by  election  or  by  appointment 
1'or  City  Boards  of  Education  and  City  School  Superintendents,  and 
authorized  counties  to  levy  a  county  school  tax  not  to  exceed  ten  cents 
on  a  hundred  dollars. 

This  revised  school  law  was  a  material  advance  on  all  previous  school 
bills.  It  provided  that  no  school  should  be  entitled  to  receive  public 
school  money  unless  it  had  been  taught  by  teachers  duly  examined  and  \ 
approved  by  legal  authority;  and  that  no  sectarian  books  should  be  used 
and  no  sectarian  doctrines  should  be  taught  in  any  school  under  penalty 
of  forfeiting  the  public  funds. 

The  legislatures  of  1856  and  1857  made  no  school  amendments  worth 
mentioning,  ])Ut  in  1858  an  advance  was  made  which  enabled  school 

•    O  * 


6 

districts  by  ;i  vote  of  the  electors,  to  levy  district  taxes  for  the  support  of 

schools  or  for  building  schoolhouses,  under  the  restriction  that  the  district 

*  should  maintain  a  school  four  months  in  the  year.     A  law  was  passed 

I  providing  for  the  sale  of  the  remainder  of  the  five  hundred  thousand 

(,")()<).()()())  acre  land  grant  of  the  Congress,  and  of  the  seventy-two  (72) 

sections  for  a  State  University. 

In  1860  the  maximum  rate  for  county  school  tax  was  raised  from  ten 
cents  to  twenty-five  cents  on  a  hundred  dollars;  the  State  Superintendent 
was  authorized  to 'hold  annually  a  State  Teachers7  Institute,  and  an 
appropriation  was  made  to  pay  the  expenses  of  such  •institutes,  and  to 
\  appoint  a  State  Board  of  Examination  with  power  to  grant  State  certifi- 
cates valid  for  two  years.  County  Superintendents  were  authorized  to 
I  appoint  county  boards  of  examination,  writh  power  to  grant  certificates 
valid  for  one  year.  These  advances  in' school  law  were  secured  by  Andrew 
-I.  Moulder,  who  was  elected  State  Superintendent  in  1856,  and  re-elected 
for  a  second  term  in  1859. 

Thus  ended  the  evolution  of  school  laws  for  the  first  decade  of  com- 
mon school  history  in  California.  It  is  evident  from  the  preceding  brief 
statement  of  school  organization  that  the  general  plan  resembled  that  of 
the  State  of  Xew  York  rather  than  that  of  New  England.  Indeed,  the 
great  area  and  the  sparse  and  scattered  population  rendered  town  or 
township  organization  impracticable  in  California.  From  the  beginning 
there  were  two  distinct  lines  of  development:  one  was  that  of  incorpo- 
rated cities  with  their  local  schools  provided  for  by  charter,  and  inde- 
pendent of  the  State;  the  other  that  of  rural  schools  in  which  the  county 
was  the  unit  of  control  under  direct  State  school  law.  In  this  protozoic 
period  of  development  the  people  in  the  centers  of  population  were  in  a 
stage  of  school  evolution  far  in  advance  of  State  legislation,  while  the 
rural  schools  in  remote  districts  were  kept  up  in  a  rude  way  for  three 
or  four  months  in  the  year  by  means  of  tuition  fees  or  rate  bills. 

In  1860,  at  the  end  of  the  first  decade  of  school  history,  California 
reported  a  common  school  enrollment  of  26,993  pupils,  with  an  average1 
daily  attendance  of  14,750  pupils,  in  593  public  schools,  taught  by  831 
teachers,  and  conducted  at  an  expense  of  $474,000.  The  total  amount 
expended  for  common  schools  during  this  decade  was  in  round  numbers 
$2,586,000. 

THE  MAKING  OF  CITY  SCHOOLS. 

From  the  beginning  in  California,  as  in  the  older  States  east  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  the  incorporated  cities,  by  virtue  of  their  special 
charters,  began  and  developed  city  schools  independent,  in  some  degree, 


of  direct  and  particular  State  school  law.  San  Francisco  may  be  taken 
as  a  type  of  all  the  larger  cities  of  California,  such  as  Sacramento,  Marys- 
vilie,  Stockton,  Oakland,  San  Jose,  Lo.s  Anodes  and  San  Diego.  The 
first  city  school  ordinance  passed  under  the  State  law  of  1851  was  the 
San  Francisco  ordinance  of  September,  1851,  which  provided  for  city 
board  of  education  and  city  school  superintendent  and  appropriated 
$35,000  for  school  purposes.  The  city  board  appointed  as  superintendent 
Rev.  Thomas  J.  Nevins,  who  came  to  California  from  New  York  City  as 
the  agent  of  the  New  York  Bible  Society.  The  superintendent  drew  up  a 
code  of  rules  resembling  the  regulations  of  the  New  York  City  schools 
under  the  control  of  the  "Public  School  Society."  One  of  these  rules 
required  the  schools  to  be  opened  on  each  Monday  morning  with  the  read- 
ing of  the  Bible  and  with  prayer  by  the  teacher.  This  rule  led  to  much 
trouble  in  the  embryo  school  department,  and  began  a  long  continued 
political  warfare.  Teachers'  certificates  "were  valid  for  one  year  only.  \ 
unless  sooner  revoked  by  the  board,"  a  rule  handed  down  from  New 
England  to  New  York  and  finally  passed  on  to  California. 

One  of  the  first  teachers  appointed  under  the  school  ordinance  was 
James  Denman,  of  the  New  York  State  Normal  School,  at  Albany,  who 
opened  school  on  the  17th  of  December,  1851,  and  continued  for  six 
years  in  the  same  school,  now  named  the  "Denman  School."  He  was 
subsequently  three  times  elected  City  School  Superintendent  and  in 
1899  was  appointed  by  the  Mayor  as  one  of  the  four  members  of  a  board 
of  education  who  were  each  paid  a  salary  of  $3.000  a  year. 

The  average  daily  attendance  in  the  city  schools,  in  1852,  was  445 
pupils,  who  were  taught  by  15  teachers.  In  1853  the  attendance  rose 
to  1,182  pupils  taught  by  16  teachers.  In  1853  several  additional 
principals  were  elected,  among  whom  were  Ellis  H.  Holmes,  Joseph  C. 
Morrill,  and  the  writer  of  this  monograph.  Ellis  H.  Holmes  subse- 
quently became  principal  of  the  first  high  school  in  San  Francisco,  in 
1856.  Joseph  C.  Morrill,  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  Civil  War,  became 
a  captain  in  the  California  volunteers  and  continued  in  service  through 
the  war.  The  writer  of  this  paragraph  remained  principal  of  the  Rincon 
Grammar  School  until  1862  when  he  was  elected  State  Superintendent 
of  Public  Instruction. 

The  period  from  1853  to  1856  was  a  'trying  time  for  the  public 
schools.  The  city  government  fell  into  the  hands  of  unscrupulous  polij-  ' 
ticians,  who  retained  their  power  by  stuffing  the  ballot  boxes.  The  school 
appropriations  were  parsimonious.  The  common  school  spirit  was  as  yet 
undeveloped.  The  new  city  was  full  of  parochial  and  other  denomina<- 
tional  schools,  and  of  small  private  schools.  The  public  schools  were 
looked  down  upon  as  "charity  schools"  for  the  children  of  indigent 


parents.  It  required  heroic  efforts  to  organize  and  maintain  public 
schools  in  the  midst  of  a  cosmopolitan  population,  drawn  from  the  four 
quarters  of  the  globe.  In  1856  the  city  government  had  become  so  cor- 
rupt that  the  better  class  of  citizens  rose  in  rebellion,  organized  the 
"Vigilance  Committee,"  hanged  a  few  murderers,  banished  from  the 
State  several  score  of  criminals  of  various  kinds,  and  regained  possession 
of  the  ballot  boxes.  Under  a  new  municipal  government  by  honest  and 
capable  officials,  the  public  schools  multiplied  and  grew  strong. 

In  1860  the  average  daily  attendance  was  2,837;  the  number  of 
teachers,  OS;  the  school  revenue,  $156,407.  For  the  entire  State  in  the 
same  year,  the  entire  school  revenue  was  $474,263;  the  average  daily 
attendance,  14,750;  the  number  of  teachers,  831. 

THE  SECOND  SCHOOL  DECADE,  1860-1870. 

This  second  decade  includes  a  period  of  general  political  upheaval 
over  our  whole  country,  owing  to  the  struggle  against  the  extension  of 
slavery  into  the  territories,  followed  by  the  Civil  War  and  the  period  of 
reconstruction.  In  California,  it  brought  into  the  State  legislatures  and 
official  positions,  men  born  in  New  England,  New  York,  Ohio  and  the 
States  of  the  northwest,  who  came  to  this  State  deeply  imbued  with  a 
strong  belief  in  American  public  schools.  Men  of  this  class  constituted 
a  majority  in  three  successive  legislatures,  and  the  result  was  a  notable 
advance  in  school  legislation.  Among  the  body  of  common  school  men 
who  gave  staunch  support  to  the  school  bills  passed  in  this  decade,  may 
be  mentioned  the  following:  John  Conness,  afterwards  IT.  S.  Senator; 
Governor  Lel-and  Stanford,  Governor  F.  F.  Low,  B.  B.  Eedding,  Secre- 
tary of  State;  John  P.  Jones,  afterwards  U.  S.  Senator  from  Nevada; 
William  J.'  Shaw,  State  Senator  from  San  Francisco;  State  Senator 
John  S.  Hagar  of  the  same  city;  State  Senator  John  E.  Benton,  of 
Sacramento;  State  Senator  C.  B.  Porter,  of  Contra  Costra,  J.  J.  Owen, 
of  Santa  Clara  and  others  too  numerous  to  mention. 

During  the  four  years  of  his  administration  (1864-68)  Governor  F.  F. 
Low  earnestly  worked  for  the  passage  of  needful  school  legislation;  he 
aided  the  funding  of  the  State  indebtedness  to  the  common  schools; 
he  was  influential  in  securing  the  establishment  of  the  State  University, 
and  he  encouraged  the  State  school  superintendent  in  organizing  the 
common  schools.  The  name  of  John  Conness  headed  the  great  petition 
of  ten  thousand  electors  and  tax  payers  from  each  and  every  school 
district  in  California,  asking  the  legislature  of  1864  to  levy  a  State  tax 
of  half  a  mill  on  the  dollar  for  the  better  support  of  common  schools. 
John  P.  Jones,  State  Senator  from  one  of  the  mining  counties,  was  an 


9 

enthusiast  in  school  legislation.  In  the  State  legislature  of  1861,  John 
Comicss  introduced  a  hill  in  the  assembly  of  which  he  was  a  member. 
which  became  a  law,  providing  for  the  sale  of  the  Kith  and  36th  sections 
of  school  lands,  the  proceeds  to  be  paid  into  the  State  School  Fund. 
Thus,  after  many  years  of  impracticable  legislation  in  tinkering  on  town- 
ship land  bills,  a  practicable  law  was  enacted  by  which,  in  less  than  one 
year,  200,000  acres  were  sold.  Another  attempt  was  made  in  this  legis- 
lature designed  to  secure  a  pro  rata  of  school  moneys  for  certain  classes 
of  schools  not  under  State  control,  but  it  was  defeated  by  the  determined 
stand  taken  against  it  by  Mr.  Conness. 

A  professional  teacher,  born  in  New  England,  was  nominated  by  the 
newly-formed  "Union  Party,"  and  was  elected  State  Superintendent  in 
1862.  He  secured  the  passage  by  the  legislature  at  the  session  of  1862-63 
of  several  important  amendments  to  the  school  law,  among  which  were 
the  following:  making  the  term  of  office  for  district  school  trustees  three 
years  instead  of  one  year;  authorizing  the  State  Board  of  Education  to 
issue  State  educational  diplomas  valid  for  six  years;  certificates  of  the 
first  grade  valid  for  four  years;  second  and  third  grades,  valid  for  two 
years; -a  11  certificates  subject  to  renewal  without  examination;  that  county 
boards  of  education  should  consist  of  professional  teachers,  exclusivclv, 
and  should  be  authorized  to  hold  examinations  in  writing,  and  to  issue 
and  renew  county  certificates.  An  appropriation  not  to  exceed  $ir>() 
annually  for  the  expenses  of  each  county  institute,  payable  out  of  the 
county  general  fund  ;  a  State  school  record  book,  printed  by  the  State 
Printer  and  furnished  to  each  teacher  in  the  State;  a  provision  requiring 
the  State  Superintendent  to  travel  throughout  the  State  at  least  three 
months  in  e-ach  year  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  schools  and  attending 
teachers'  institutes,  his  actual  traveling  expenses  not  to  exceed  $1,000  a 
year  to  be  paid  by  the  State. 

In  his  annual  report  (1863)  to  the  legislature  the  State  Superin- 
tendent said:  "The  most  important  school  measure  that  demands  the 
attention  of  legislators  is  that  of  a  State  school  tax  for  the  better  main- 
tenance of  public  schools.  Our  American  system  of  free  common  schools 
is  based  upon  two  fundamental  principles  or  axioms;  First — That  it  is 
the  duty  of  a  republican  or  representative  government  as  an  act  of  self 
preservation  to  provide  for  the  education  of  every  child;  Second — That 
the  property  of  the  State  should  be  taxed  to  pay  for  that  education.7' 

At  the  session  of  the  legislature  of  1863-64,  a  supplementary  and 
amendatory  school  bill,  prepared  by  the  superintendent,  was  passed  by 
the  legislature  .after  a  long  and  bitter  fight  against  it.  This  bill  provided 
for  the  levy  of  an  'annual  State  tax  of  five  cents  on  each  hundred  dollars ; 
for  the  compulsory  levy  by  county  boards  of  a  minimum  county  school 


10 

tax  equal  to  two  dollars  for  each  school  census  child;  for  a  maximum 
county  tax  of  thirty  cents  on  each  hundred  dollars;  .for  making  it  the 
iluty  of  district  school  trustees  to  levy  a  direct  property  tax,  sufficient  to 
maintain  a  public  school  five  months  in  each  year,  whenever  State  ami 
county  school  money  should  be  insufficient  for  that  'purpose;  and  for  tin- 
annual  subscription  by  county  superintendents  for  a  sufficient  number  of 
copies  of  some  State  educational  journal,  io  furnish  cadi  hoard  of  school 
trustees  with  one  copy  at  an  expense  not  to  exceed  one  dollar  a  year. 

Important  school  legislation  was  again  secured  in  lH(;r>-(>(i  by  the 
passage  of  the  "Revised  School  Law" — a  law  draft  art  by  the  State 
Superintendent  and  passed  almost  without  amendment.  This  law  con- 
tained liberal  provisions  for  State.,  county  and  district  taxation,  and 
marked  the  beginning  of  free  common  schools  in  every  rural  district  in 
the  State.  It  fixed  the  rate  of  State  school  tax  at  eight  cents  on  the 
hundred  dollars;  the  county  tax  -at  a  minimum  of  three  dollars  for  eacb 
school  census  child,  and  the  maximum  rate  of  thirty-five  cents  on  each 
hundred  dollars;  authorized  and  required  school  trustees  to  levy  a  school 
tax  if  necessary,  to  keep  a  free  school  for  five  months  in  each  year.  It 

•(  provided  for  a  State  board  of  education  with  power  to  grant  life  diplomas. 

winder  specified  conditions,  to  experienced  teachers;  for  district  school 
libraries;  for  county  teachers'  institutes;  for  the  election  of  district 
.lehool  trustees  for  three  years,  one  to  be  elected  each  year;  for  the  pay- 
Aient  of  county  boards  of  education;  for  establishing  district  school 
libraries;  for  city  boards  of  examination;  for  recognizing  the  normal 
school  diplomas  of  other  States,  and  for  many  other  minor  details  of  a 
modern  public  school  system.  During  the  remainder  of  this  decade  there 
were  only  slight  amendments  to  the  school  law,  relating  to  minor  matter?. 
In  this  decade  the  State  University  of  California  was  established  (18(59) 
as  a  free  institution  of  learning,  open  to  young  men  and  young  women 
without  tuition  fees.  The  opening  of  the  State  University  led  to  the 
rapid  development  of  union  high  schools  in  all  parts  of  the  State.  The 
State  University  and  secondary  education  will  be  treated  of  in  special 
monographs,  and  they  need  no  further  mention  in  this  monograph  which 
is  limited  to  elementary  .education. 

At  the  end  of  the  second  school  decade  (1870)  the  common  school 
reports  show  an  enrollment  of  85,808  pupils;  an  average  daily  attendance 
of  54,271;  1,492  schools;  1,80.0  teachers;  and  an  expenditure  of  $1,529,- 
04(>.  The  total  expenditures  for  tire  whole  decade  amounted  to  $8,910,- 

THE  THIRD  SCHOOL  DECADE,  1870-1880. 
In  1870  the  original  provision  for  State  imiformifv  of  text  books, 


11 

which  extended  only  to  rural  district  schools,  was  amended  so  as  to 
compel  San  Francisco  and  all  other  incorporated  cities  to  adopt  the  State 
series  of  text  books. 

In  1874  the  only  school  legislation  of  importance  was  the  increase 
of  the  State  school  tax  from  eight  cents  on  a  hundred  dollars  to  an  annual  ', 
tax  which  should  amount  to  seven  dollars  per  school  census  child,  and  a 
law  requiring  the  county  superintendent  to  make  a  minimum  apportion- 
ment of  $450  to  each  school  district,  regardless  of  size — the  balance  to  be 
distributed  on  the  basis  of  school  census  children. 

In  1879  a  convention  was  called  to  revise  the  State  Constitution.    Tho 
new   Constitution,   adopted   by   popular  vote,   contained    several    articles 
that  required  important  amendments  to  the  State  school  law.   One  section 
established  in  each  county  a  county  board  of  five  members,  appointed   I 
by  the  county  board  of  supervisors,  with  power  to  adopt  text  books  for  the   j 
schools  of  their  respective  counties;    and    to    examine  and  certificate  j 
teachers   under   prescribed   State   law.      The   term   of   office   of   county 
suprintendents  was  made  four  years  instead  of  two  years.     An  iron-- 
bound section  provided  that  no  public  school  moneys  should  'be  appor- 
tioned to  sectarian  or  denominational  schools  of  any  kind  whatever. 

During  the  next  .decade,  in  1884-85,  an  amendment  to  the  State 
Constitution  was  adopted  which  provided  that  the  State  Board  of  Educa- 
tion should  edit,  compile  and  prepare  a  State  series  of  text-books,  to  be 
printed  by  the  State  Printer,  published  by  the  State,  and  furnished  to 
the  pupils  at  cost  price. 

LATER  LKOTSLATION. 

During  the  decade  of  1890-1900,  the  chief  amendments  and  additions 
to  the  school  law  related  to  the  organization  of  union  high  schools  outside 
of  the  larger  cities,  by  the  combination  of  rural  school  districts. 

In  1901  elaborate  amendments  to  the  school  law  were  passed  which  k 
raised  the  standard  for  teachers'  certificates  in  various  ways,  specified  in\ 
detail  near  the  close  of  this  monograph.     Provision  was  made  for 
concentration   of   rural   schools,   and   for   the  transportation   of    pupils 
after    the    manner    now    coming    into    favor    in    States    east    of    the 
Rocky  Mountains.     Cities  were  authorized  to  establish  truant  schools. 
This  bill  of  amendments  was  drafted  by  a  commission  of  one  huudn-d 
(100)   citizens,  teachers  and  educators  appointed  by  the  Governor,  the 
State  Superintendent,  and  the  President  of  the  State  University,  who 
acted  through  special  committees.     The  work  was  well  done  and  it  re- 
sulted in  a  great  educational  advance. 

An  amendment  to  the  Constitution  was  adopted  by  popular  vote, 


12 

authorizing  the  legislature  to  levy  a  SI  ale  properly  fax  lo  aid  in  the 
support  of  high  schools,  and  the  legislature  provided  for  an  annual  tax 
levy  of  one  and  a  half  cents  on  each  one  hundred  dollars. 

The  particulars  of  school  legislation  have  been  given  in  detail  because 
the  historical  treatment  seemed  to  the  writer  the  most  ell'ective  \vav  of 
illustrating  the  making  of  a  State  school  system.  While  this  historical 
method  may  he  of  little  interest  to  the  general  reader,  it  may  prove  of 
some  value  to  educational  experts. 

A    STATKMKXT   OF   RXISTINCJ   CONDITION!. 

At  the  opening  of  the  twentieth  century  the  educational  outlook  of 
California  .is  most  promising.  ANY  have  a  free  State  I'niversitv,  open  io 
both  young  men  and  young  women;  five  State  normal  schools;  one 
hundred  and  forty  high  schools  and  underlying  these  institutions  of 
learning,  an  efficient  system  of  elementary  schools. 

The  common  schools  of  the  State  are  under  the  executive  supervision 
of  a  superintendent  of  public  instruction,  and  of  county  superintendents, 
elected  at  general  elections  by  direct  popular  vote,  for  the  term  of  four 
years.  City  superintendents  are,  in  general,  appointed  by  city  boards 
of  education.  The  State  Board  of  Education  is  composed  of  ex-officio 
members,  including  the  (Jovernor,  the  State  Superintendent,  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  State  University  and  the  Professor  of  Pedagogy  therein,  and 
the  president  of  each  of  the  five  State  normal  schools — nine  members 
.in  all.  Tins  board  has  power  to  adopt  rules  and  regulations,  not  incon- 
sistent with  State  school  law,  for  the  government  of  the  public  schools 
and  the  school  district  libraries;  to  prescribe  by  general  rule  the  creden- 
tials upon  which  persons  may  be  granted  certificates  to  teach  in  the  high 
schools  of  the  State;  to  grant  life  diplomas  of  four  grades  valid  through- 
out the  State,  as  follows:  (a)  High  school,  authorizing  the  holder  to 
teach  in  any  primary,  grammar  or  high  school;  (h)  (Jrammar  school, 
good  for  primary  or  grammar  schools:  (c)  Kindergarten-primary;  (d) 
Special,  good  for  such  grades  as  are  specified. 

The  State  board  is  further  empowered  to  compile  or  cause  to  be 
compiled  a  uniform  series  of  school  text-books  for  use  in  the  common 
schools  of  the  State  as  required  by  the  State  Constitution,  to  contract 
for  or  lease  copyrights  for  the  purpose  of  being  used  in  compiling,  print- 
ing and  publishing  school  books,  the  hooks  to  be  printed  in  the  State 
printing  office,  and  to  be  sold  at  cost  price. 

County  boards  of  education  must  consist  of  the  county  superintendent 
and  four  other  members,  a  majority  of  whom  shall  be  experienced 
teachers  holding  not  lower  than  grammar  grade  cert  iticates.  These  boards 


13 

arc  empowered  to  hold  one  annual  examination  to  examine  applicants! 
for  grammar  school   certificates;  to  issue  high  school  certificates  upon! 
credentials  as  prescribed  by  the  State  board,  good  for  their  own  county; 
grammar  school  certificates  good  for  the  county;  kindergarten  primary 
certificates  and  special  certificates  as  prescribed  by  the  State  board. 

City  boards  of  education  in  general  are  elected  by  popular  vote, 
except  in  the  City  and  County  of  San  Francisco,  where  the  board  at 
present  consists  of  four  members  appointed  by  the  Mayor  and  paid  a 
salary  of  .$:>.()()()  a  year.  The  powers  of  city  boards  vary  with  'the 
different  city  charters,  subject  to  a  few  general  provisions  in  the' State 
school  law. 

Each  district  board  of  school  trustees  consists  of  three  members 
(lee ted  1)\*  popular  vote  at  school  district  elections,  for  the  term  of  three 
years,  one  member  being  elected  each  year.  These  boards  are  empowered 
to  appoint  and  fix  the  salaries  of  teachers;  to  appoint  census  marshals; 
to  provide  school  supplies  authorized  by  law;  to  keep  the  school  houses 
in  repair  and  to  enforce  the  general  provisions  of  the  State  school  law. 

The  elementary  schools  of  the  State  are  classified  as  grammar  and 
primary.  All  schools  must  be  taught  in  the  English  language;  in  other 
words,  English  must  be  the  language  spoken  in  school.  The  school 
studies  as  prescribed  by  State  law  are  as  follows :  Reading,  writing, 
orthography,  arithmetic,  geography,  nature  study,  language  and  gram- 
mar, with  special  reference  to  composition;  history  of  the  United  States 
and  civil  government,  elements  of  physiology  and  hygiene  with  special 
reference  to  the  effect  of  alcohol  and  narcotics  on  the  human  system: 
music,  drawing,  elementary  bookkeeping  and  humane  education;  pro- 
vided that  instruction  in  bookkeeping,  humane  education,  physiology  and 
hygiene,  music-,  drawing  and  nature  studv  may  be  oral,  no  text-book-  on 
these  subjects  being  required  to  he  purchased  bv  the  pupils. 

The  school  la\v  provides  that  "No  pupil  under  the  age  of  fifteen 
in  any  primary  or  grammar  school  shall  be  required  to  do  any  h'»me 
study."  "In  graded  primary  schools  in  which  the  average  age  of  ihe 
pupils  is  eight  years,  the  daily  session  shall  not  exceed  four  hours  a  dav. 
exclusive  of  the  intermission  at  noon,  and  inclusive  of  the  recesses.  In 
ungraded  schools,  all  children  under  eight  years  of  age  shall  be  fit  her 
dismissed  after  a  four-hours'  session,  or  allowed  recesses,  for  play,  of 
such  length  that  the  actual  confinement  in  the  school  room  shall  not 
exceed  three  hours  and  a  half." 

One  of  the  most  benelict  nt  of  many  good  provisions  in  the  California 
school  law  is  that  relating  to  school  libraries,  incorporated  into  ihe 
"revised  school  law"  in  lS(i(i.  and  retained  with  slight  amendment,  on  the 
-I at ute  books,  up  to  the  present  time.  The  school  library  law  pro\ 


14 

thai  in  rural  districts  "the  library  fund  shall  consist  of  not  less  than  five 
nor  more  than  ten  per  cent,  of  the  county  school  fund  annually  appor- 
tioned to  the  district;  provided  that  should  ten  per  cent,  exceed  fifty 
dollars,  fifty  dollars  only  shall  be  apportioned  to  the  district."  In  cities 
not  divided  into  school  districts,  the  library  fund  consists  of  fifty  dollars 
for  every  one  thousand  school  census  children  or  fraction  thereof,  the 
superintendent  to  apportion  the  fund  annually  to  the  several  schools  in 
proportion  to  the  average  number  of  children  belonging  to  each  school. 
The  number  of  volumes  in  -all  the  school  libraries  in  California  in  1902 
was  reported  as  1,324,613  and  most  of  these  books  were  •pecially  selected 
to  suit  the  taste  and  the  needs  of  young  children.  Thus,  year  by  year, 
new  books  are  added  to  the  library,  and  worn  out  books  replaced  by  new 
ones.  Every  school  in  California,  however  small  or  however  remote,  has 
at  least  a  few  volumes  of  choice  books  used  to  cultivate  in  the  pupils  a 
taste  for  reading. 

SCHOOL  REVENUE. — The  school  moneys  annually  apportioned  from 
the  State  treasury  for  the  partial  support  of  common  schools  are  derived 
from  various  sources.  The  securities  held  in  trust  by  the  State  Treasurer 
for  the  support  of  common  schools  (July.  1902)  consist  of  State  bonds 
aggregating  $1,726.500,  together  with  bonds  of  various  counties  of  the 
State  amounting  to  $1,598,700,  making  a  total  of  $3,5.-)*. 200,  invested 
in  a  permanent  State  School  Fund,  the  annual  interest  of  which  is  ap- 
plied for  the  support  of  schools  The  amount  derived  from  the  State 
proper!  v  tax  of  seven  dollars  per  school  census  child,  amounted  in  1902 
to  $2,546,972.07.  The  amount  derived  from  poll  taxes,  from  tax  on 
railroads,  from  collateral  inheritances,  interest  on  bonds  and  school 
bonds,  combined  with  the  State  tax,  makes  a  total  of  $3,588,626  of  school 
revenue  derived  from  the  State. 

The  second  source  of  revenue  is  the  county  school  tax.  the  minimum 
rate  of  which  is  six  dollars  per  school  census  child.  In  1902  this  tax 
gave  a  school  revenue  of  $2.538,000.  Another  source  of  revenue  is  tin- 
city  or  district  tax,  which  in  1902  amounted  to  $270.577.  The  grand 
total  of  all  receipts  for  school  purposes  in  1902  was  $8,125,490. 

COMPARATIVE  RANK  WITH  OTHER  STATES. 

It  is  said  that  Californians  are  given  to  boasting  about  their  climate 
and  their  resources,  but  California  teachers  and  educators  make  only 
the  modest  claim  that  their  schools  compare  favorably  with  those  of  older, 
wealthier,  and  more  populous  States  that  have  a  common  school  history 
running  back  for  more  than  two  hundred  years,  into  the  colonial  period 
of  the  thirteen  original  States  in  the  Union.  The  city  schools  in  Cali- 


15 

fornia  closely  resemble  the  good  city  schools  of  other  Slater  The  one 
and  two-room  rural  schools  of  California  have  some  points  of  marked 
superiority  over  the  corresponding  rural  schools  in  the  older  States. 
This  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  California  school  law  provides  that,  to 
districts  having  ten  and  less  than  twenty  school  census  children,  the 
County  Superintendent  shall  apportion  outright  $400  and  further,  that 
$500  shall  be  apportioned  to  each  district  for  every  teacher  assigned  to  it. 
All  remaining  moneys  are  apportioned  to  districts  in  proportion  to  the 
daily  average  school  attendance.  This  direct  appropriation  of  $400 
a  year  to  the  small,  weak,  or  newly-formed  school  districts  to  which  may 
be  added  from  one  hundred  to  three  hundred  dollars  by  pro  rafca  appor- 
tionment, enables  the  smallest  rural  schools  to  secure  competent  teachers, 
and  continue  school  at  least  eight  months  in  the  year.  The  State,  in  turn, 
by  means  of  a  heavy  State  school  tax,  lends  a  helping  hand  to  the  weaker 
counties,  by  apportioning  the  State  school  fund  on  the  basis  of  the 
number  of  school  census  children,  thus  compelling  the  cities  where  wealth 
and  population  are  concentrated,  to  aid  the  rural  counties  which  have  a 
sparse  population  and  a  relatively  smaller  amount,  per  capita,  of  taxable 
property.  This  plan  is  regarded  by  Calif  ornians  as  dictated  by  en- 
lightened common  sense.  It  has  enabled  the  rural  schools  of  the  State 
to  challenge  comparison  with  the  best  in  the  world. 

The  latest  report  -of  the  U.  S.  Commissioner  of  Education,  Vol.  I 
(1902),  states  that  the  average  number  of  days  schooling  given  to  each 
child  between  five  and  eighteen  years  of  age  in  California  is  99.7 — a 
nu tuber  exceeded  only  by  Massachusetts  (108.2)  and  Connecticut 
(101.8).  The  amount  of  school  money  raised  for  each  person  between 
live  and  seventeen  years  of  .age  in  California  is  $21.75 — an  amount 
exceeded  only  by  Massachusetts  ($22,37),  Nevada  $(25.17),  Colorado 
($21.83),  the  District  of  Columbia/not  properly  a  State,  ($27.57).  The 
average  number  of  days  al tended  by  each  pupil  enrolled  on  school  records 
in  California  is  125.9 — .a  number  exceeded  only  by  Rhode  Island  (141.6), 
Connecticut  (138).  Now  York  (133.2),  and  Illinois  (131.5).  Amount 
expended  per  capita  of  total  population,  in  California,  $4.94 — an  amount 
exceeded  only  by  New  York  ($5.00  approximately),  and  Massachusetts 
($4.96  exactly).  The  average  of  teachers'  wages  in  California  runs 
higher  than  in  most  of  the  older  States.  According  to  the  latest  report 
of  the  State  Superintendent,  the  average  monthly  wages  paid  teachers  of 
grammar  schools  in  the  State  as  a  whole,  was  in  1902:  men  $73.21; 
\\omen  $66.12;  paid  teachers  in  primary  schools:  men  $61.05;  women 
$62.9.2;  in  high  schools:  men  $104.24;  women  $91.28.  According  to  the 
report  of  F.  S.  Commissioner  Harris,  1902,  the  average  monthly  salaries 
of  teachers  of  all  grades  in  California  was  for  women  $67.19— a  rate 


16 

exceeded  only  by  Arizona;  for  men  tbe  average  was  $87.01 — a  rate 
exceeded  only  by  Massachusetts  ($140.94);  Khode  Island  $116.01); 
NVvada  ($100.84). 

OTHER  EDUCATIONAL  STATISTICS. 

According  to  the  latest  report  of  the  State  Superintendent  of  Cali- 
fornia, the  number  of  school  census  children  (5-17)  was  :>7.">.!HH);  attend- 
ing public  schools.  289,993;  number  of  school  districts.  M.2SS;  number 
of  teachers,  7,466;  average  number  of  school  days  ii*  the  year.  .1U5.S  ; 
total  of  school  receipts,  $8,125,490;  expenditures.  $G.G06.0G1. 

The  average  daily  school  attendance  at  the  end  of  each  school  decade 
runs  as  follows:  1860,  14,750;  1870,  54,271;  1880,  100,966;  1890,  146,- 
589;  1900,  197,395. 

The  following  table  shows  the  total  amount  expended  in  each  school 
decade  from  1850  to  1900:— 

First   Decade.    1850-1860 $  2,486,331  00 

Second  Decade,  1860-1870 8.919,568  00 

Third  Decade, '  1870-1880 25.117,240  00 

Fourth  Decade.   1880-1890 38,245,904  00 

Fifth  Decade,  1890-1900 57,373,047  00 

Part  of  Sixth  Decade,  1900-1902 12,981.291  00 


Total    amount $145,123,381  00 

The  following  table   shows   the  increase,  by   decades,   in  the  daily 
average  school  attendance: — 

At  the  end  of  the  First  Decade.  1860 14.750 

At  the  end  of  the  Second  Decade,  1870 54.271 

At  the  end  of  the  Third  Decade,  1880 100,966 

At  the  end  of  the  Fourth  Decade.  1890 146,589 

At  tbe  end  of  the  Fifth  Decade,  1900 197,395 


JJ 


=00= 


SECONDARY  EDUCATION 
IN  CALIFORNIA 


30* 


A    MONOGRAPH 


\r 


PUBLISHED     BY 

DEPARTMENT  OF   EDUCATION 

CALIFORNIA  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE   EXPOSITION 

=  COMMISSION  = 

SAN    FRANCISCO,   CAL.,  19O4 

\Xr=: 


•30S-C 


Secondary  Education  in  California 


By  J.  B.  MCCHESNEY 


Mission  High  School  Building,  San  Francisco 


Secondary  Education  in  California 


By  J.  B.  MCCHESNEY 


Secondary  education  received  scant  attention  during  the  early  his- 
tory of  California  for  two  obvious  reasons.  First,  the  population  \vas 
composed  almost  entirely  of  men  who  came  to  the  State  for  the  purpose 
of  engaging  in  gold  mining,  intending  as 'soon  as  their  fortunes  were 
made  to  return  to  their  homes  and  families.  They  had  no  immediate 
use  for  schools  of  anv  kind,  and  they  gave  little  thought  to  provision* 
for  their  organization  and  maintenance.  Second!}',,  the  State  was 
sparsely  populated  except  in  the  mining  camps,  where  for  several  years 
it  was  difficult  to  carry  on  schools  of  a  primary  grade  for  more  than 
three  or  four  months  in  a  year.  Fortune  hunting  was  the  supreme  intent 
of  the  early  Californians;  all  other  interests  in  which  civilized  society  is 
supposed  to  he  concerned  were,  for  the  time  being,  held  in  abeyance. 

1 1'iowever.  the  makers  of  the  first  Constitution  realized  that  an  in-stru-i 
ni'-nt   of  that   kind   would  he  incomplete  without  some  provision  being 
made   for  ('duration,  and   consequently,  we  find  Article  IX,  Section  3,  j 
reading  as  follows : 

"The  Legislature  shall  provide  for  a  system  of  schools  by  which  a 
school  shall  he  kept  up  and  supported  in  each  district  at  least  three 
months  in  each  year,  and  any  school  district  neglecting  to  keep  up  and 
support  such  a  school  may  be  deprived  of  its  proportion  of  the  interest 
of  the  public  fund  during  such  neglect." 

The  expression  "system  of  schools"  is  somewhat  indefinite.  At  any 
rate,  it  rested  with  the  Legislature  to  determine  the  grades  of  schools 
which  they  might  constitutionally  provide  for.  In  the  proceedings  of 
the  Legislature  of  1851,  Article  II,  Section  5,  we  find  the  following:  • 

"Not  less  than  GO  per  cent  of  the  amount  paid  each  district  shall  be 
expended  in  teachers'  salaries;  the  balance  may,  at  the  discretion  of  the 


district,  bo  expended  in  building  or  repairing  school  houses,  purchasing 
a  library  or  apparatus  or  for  I  lie-  xni>jn>rl  <>f  <i  In'i/h  school."  Thus  we 
soo  Hint  as  early  as  l«Sr>l  legislative  provision  was  inado  for  llio  support 
of  a  high  school. 

P>u1  as  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  learn,  no  high  school  was  organized 
as  a  result  of  this  permission.  In  fact,  there  were  no  pupils  of  sullieieni 
scholastic  attainments  to  form  a  class,  or  if  there  were,  live  "diggings" 
had  such  superior  attractions  that  a  school  of  any  kind  received  litttle  or 
no  consideration. 

The  next  Legislature,  that  of  1852,  enacted  a  new  school  law,  making 
no  mention  of  high  schools.  Whether  the  members  thought  that  tin- 
nine  was  not  yet  ripe  for  such  schools,  or  whether  they  considered  that 
the  entire  school  fund  should  be  devoted  to  elementary  instruction,  1 
am  unable  to  state. 

In  1855  the  school  law  was  enacted  for  a  third  time  under  the  fol- 
lowing title:  "Act  to  establish,  support  and  regulate  common  schooU 
and  to  repeal  former  Acts  concerning  the  same."  Section  17  defined 
I  ho  duties  and  powers  of  district  trustees  as  -follows: 

"'They  may  cause  the  common  schools  within  their  respective  juris- 
dictions to  be  divided  into  Primary,  Grammar  and  High  School  Depart- 
ments, and  to  employ  competent  teachers  for  the  instruction  of  the  dif- 
ferent departments,  whenever  they  may  deem  such  division  advisable. 
provided,  there  be  sufficient  means  for  all  such  departments,  and  if  not. 
then  in  the  order  in  which  they  are  herein  named,  the  primary  school 
having  preference." 

This  Act  remained  undisturbed  on  the  statute  boooks  for  eight  years, 
and  during  this  period  the  first  permanent  high  schools  of  California 
were  established.  The  San  Francisco  High  School  was  organi/ed  in 
January,  1858,  being  the  first  in  California.  It  was  attended  by  both 
sexes,  and  deservedly  enjoyed  a  high  reputation. 

The  'school  records  of  this  period  are  exceedingly  meager,  thus 
making  it  difficult  to  collect  accurate  data  concerning  actual  work  done 
in  secondary  education.  Then,  too,  the  term  "high  school'-  was  vaguely 
used,  there  being  no  recognized  authority  to  place  a  line  of  demarcation 
between  advanced  grammar  grades  and  high  school  grades  proper.  Pre- 
vious to  the  formal  organization  of  a  high  school  in  San  Francisco  in 
January,  1858,  a  class  of  advanced  grammar  school  pupils  was  main- 
tained. The  school  authorities  of  San  Francisco  did  not  call  this  a 
high  school,  although  it  is  quite  probable  that  distinctively  high  sch<>,>! 
branches  were  taught. 

About  this  time  a  high  school  was  commenced  in  Sacramento  and 
another  in  Marysville,  but  in  the  annual  report  of  the  State  Superintend- 


ent  for  1860  but  two  high  schools  are  recognized,  one  in  San  Francisco 
and  one  in  Sacramento. 

During  the  decade  commencing  with  1860  an  increased  interest  in 
secondary  education  was  manifested  in  California.  In  November,  ISGv?. 
a  high  school  was  organized  in  Nevada  City,  and  at  about  the  same  time 
another  in  Grass  Valley,  but  four  miles  distant.  These  towns  were  at 
that  time  the  largest  and  most  thriving  mining  towns  in  the  State. 
They  were' the  centers  of  trade  for  an  extensive  area  occupied  by  valuable 
quartz  mines  and  deep  placer  diggings.  The  inhabitants  were  prosper- 
ous and  they  were  desirous  that  their  growing  families  should  enjoy  the 
best  educational  privileges  possible.  At  this  time  the  influence  of  the 
mining  counties  predominated  in  State  affairs,  as  they  possessed  both  : 
the  wealth  and  a  large  majority  of  the  voting  population. 

The  great  valley  extending  from  the  Tehachapi  Mountains  on  the 
south  to  the  town  of  Redding  on  the  north  afforded  only  a  rich  feeeding 
ground  for  immense  numbers  of  cattle  and  sheep.  Californians  had  not 
yet  learned  the  wonderful  possibilities  of  this  vast  area  for  the  produc- 
tion of  grain  and  fruit.  The  State  was  a  mining  State;  the  new  arrivals 
looked  to  the  mines  for  investment  and  as  a  field  for  operation.  The 
representatives  of  the  so-called  "cow  counties''  were  unwilling  that  the 
more  prosperous  mining  counties  should  dictate  a  system  of  common 
schools  which  would  give  them  an  undue  share  of  the  school  funds.  II  igh 
schools  could  exist  in  thickly  settled  communities  only,  and  these  were 
not  found  outside  the  cities  except  in  the  mining  counties.  This  accounts 
for  the  fact  that  until  the  close  of  this  decade  the  high  schools  of  Califor^" 
nia  were  confined  to  the  larger  cities  and  towns. 

But  the  dawning  of  the  next  decade  witnessed  a  change.  Tlie  gold 
mines,  which  required  little  or  no  capital  for  their  operation,  were  most  I  v 
worked  out,  and  thus  men  of  small  means  were  compelled  to  turn  their 
attention  to  other  pursuits.  Vast  areas  which  early  Californians  consid- 
ered worthless  were  found  to  be  capable  of  sustaining  unlimited  grain 
fields  and  orchards,  and  as  a  result,  the  land  was  taken  up,  trees  and 
vines  were  planted,  and  California  soon  became  noted  for  its  broad  fields 
of  grain  and  extensive  vineyards. 

Thriving  villages  sprang  into  existence  all  through  the  State;  the 
despised  "cow  counties"  so  increased  in  population  that  they  soon  con- 
trolled State  legislation.  This  meant  among  other  matters  that  the 
common  school  system  must  be  acceptable  to  them,  and  as  their  centers 
of  population  were  only  in  the  formative  period  they  had  no  use  for 
high  schools.  The  primary  and  grammar  grades  satisfied  all  their  needs. 
To  keep  these  open  the  requisite 'number  of  months  each  year  in  order  to 


i 


draw  their  share  of  the  public  funds  imposed  a  burden  which  they  were 
scarcely  able  to  bear. 

In  a  general  way,  it  may  be  stated  that  the  decade  from  is;o  to  jssu 
witnessed  a  gradual  preponderance  of  population  in  the  agricultural 
counties  over  the  mining  counties,  and  with  this  went  a  corresponding 
influence  in  State  affairs.  But  this  decade  was  not  prolific  in  the  organ- 
ization of  new  high  schools.  One  was  opened  in  Oakland  in  .ISO!),  one  in 
Los  Angeles  in  1871;  San  Jose  and  Vallejo  followed  soon  a  Tier. 

On  the  whole,  it  may  be  stated  that  California  did  hut  little  for  the 
cause  of  secondary  education  during  the  first  thirty  years  of  her  history. 
This  can  he  said,  however,  although  the  high  schools*  were  limited  in 
number,  they  were  excellent  in  quality.  The  teachers  employed  in  them 
were  men  and  women  of  superior  ability  and  devoted  to  their  profession. 
Their  schools  took  a  deservedly  high  rank,  and  in  their  courses  of  study 
and  in  their  methods  of  teaching  they  were  befitting  models  for  the 
high  schools  which  were  to  follow.  This  is  all  the  more  remarkable  be- 
( cause  the  manner  in  which  high  school  certificates  were  issued  was  some- 
what lax,  or  perhaps,  to  state  it  more  accurately,  the  rigorous  and  search- 
ing methods  which  afterwards  prevailed  were  not  used. 

It  would  be  interesting  at  this  point  to  give  a  careful  analysis  of  the 
social  and  political  conditions  which  prevailed  in  California  during  the 
decade  above  referred  to  because  of  the  predominating  influence  these 
conditions  had  upon  the  cause  of  secondary  education.  A  complete  dis- 
cussion of  this  most  interesting  problem  would  lead  me  far  as! ray.  and 
I  must  content  myself  by  a  few  bald  statements  which  I  think  a  careful 
discussion  would  confirm. 

Many  of  the  early  Californians  were  men  of  broad  views.  Their 
investments  were  in  the  mines,  and  from  them  they  obtained  their  wealth. 
Gold  was  an  expensive  commodity  and  not  suitable  for  making  exact 
change;  early  Californians  became  indifferent  to  small  coins  and  would 
not  use  them  in  their  business  transactions;  their  views  of  affairs  gener- 
ally were  expanded,  and  at  may  be  said  that  they  despised  the  day  of 
small  things.  All  this  had  its  influence  upon  the  character  of  the  in- 
dividual, and  thus  upon  the  community  as  a  whole. 

This  state  of  affairs  might  do  if  the  mines  held  out  and  the  poor 
as  well  as  the  rich  could  avail  themselves  of  their  use.  But  a  change 
came;  the  crv  was  spread  abroad  that  the  mines  were  worked  out;  men 
must  adapt  themselves  to  new  conditions,  must  seek  new  fields  of  labor. 
Many  engaged  in  agricultural  pursuits,  where  the  labor  was  seven.1  and 
tlie  results  doubtful.  To  give  up  the  expensive  habits  of  the  miner  and 
to  adopt  the  frugal  ways  of  the  farmer  was  a  difficult  lesson  for  the  Cal- 
fornians  of  this  decade.  But  some  learned  it;  others,  however,  did  not. 


They  became  restless,  fault-finding  and  envious  of  those  more  fortunate. 
Labor  and  capital  became  antagonistic,  and  a  general  condition  of  unrest 
prevailed  throughout  the  State.  Agitators  harangued  crowds  gathered 
on  vacant  lots  in  San  Francisco;  they  were  exhorted  to  down  the  aristo- 
crats and  demand  a  more  equitable  division  of  wealth.  This  agitation 
spread  throughout  the  State,  and  as  a  result  of  it  all  a  constitutional 
convent-ion  was  called,  a  new  constitution  drafted  and  finally  adopted 
l>v  a  popular  vote  of  the  people. 

The  new  constitution  was  a  child  of  the  transitional  period  and  con- 
sequent 1\  some  of  its  sections  were  unwise,  if  not  unjust.  Its  provisions 
\vere  presented  and  discussed  by  men  laboring  under  strong  prejudices. 
During  the  decade  there  had  been  a  growing  depression  among  working- 
men  throughout  the  State.  The  trouble  was  considerably  augmented 
by  a  large  immigration  of  Chinese,  who- by  their  industrious,  plodding 
ways  and  their  readiness  to  work  for  small  wages  created  a  violent  an- 
tagonism toward  them  among  white  laborers.  A  new  political  party 
was  organized  called  the  Workingmen's  Party,  with  a  platform  which 
appealed  to  class  prejudice  and  which  was  particularly  opposed  to 
Chinese  laborers  and  those  who  employed  them.  It  may  readily  bo  un- 
derstood that  a  constitutional  convention,  called  at  a  time  of  unusual 
industrial  depression,  would  reflect  in  its  discussions  and  conclusions  the 
general  trend  of  public  thought.  Then,  as  ever  before,  it  was  thought 
that  constitutional  provisions  and  legislative  enactments  would  remedy 
conditions  which  could  only  be  reached  by  changing  the  thought  and 
purpose  of  the  people. 

Previous  to  the  meeting  of  the  Constitutional  Convention,  in  October, 
1S-7S.  secondary  education  had  received  little  encouragement  from  the 
people  of  California.  The  legislative  enactment  of  1855  provided  for 
primary,  grammar  and  high  school  departments,  but  the  primary  and 
grammar  schools  must  receive  the  first  consideration;  then,  if  funds 
remained  in  the  treasury,  they  might  he  appropriated  to  the  support 
of  a  high  school.  Hut.  as  we  have  already  shown,  this  provision,  although 
remaining  substantially  unchanged  until  1872,  did  not  actively  encourage 
the  cause  of  secondary  education.  On  the  contrary,  the  system  of  issuing 
teachers'  certificates  at  this  time  rendered  it  next  to  impossible  to  obtain 
a  high  school  certificate  except  from  City  Boards  of  Education;  these 
might  be  recognized  by  County  Boards  of  Examination  or  not,  as  they 
saw  fit. 

\Yhfii  all  these  conditions  are  fully  realized,  one  can  readily  under- 
stand that  the  friends  and  active  promoters  of  secondary  education  looked 
forward  to  the  action  of  the  Constitutional  Convention  with  intense 
interest,  and  also  with  considerable  anxiety.  They  had  not  met  with 


8 

disappointments  and  rebuffs  time  and  again  without  a  pretty  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  general  trend  of  public  sentiment  toward  the  canst' 
they  held  so  dear,  and  so,  while  they  hoped,  they  also  feared.  They  had 
experienced  apathy,  indifference  and  open  hostility,  but  all  this  would  be 
forgotten  if  the  new  const  it ut  ion  would  recognize  the  high  school  and 
make  it  an  integral  part  of  the  State  system  of  schools. 

Space  forbids  my  entering  upon  a  detailed  account  of  the  labors  of 
this  convention  or  of  the  discussions  which  took  place  concerning  an 
educational  system  for  California. 

The  subject  received  careful  attention  by  men  of  large  experience  in 
statecraft — men  who  had  an  unbounded  faith  in  the  future  greatness 
of  California  and  were  animated  by  a  desire  to  formulate  the  best  con- 
stitution possible. 

The  final  result  of  these  discussions  providing  for  high  schools  was 
embodied  in  Article  IX,  Section  6, 'which  reads  as  follows: 

"The  public  -school  system  shall  include  primary  and  grammar  schools 
and  such  high  schools,  evening  schools,  normal  schools  and  technical 
schools  as  may  be  established  by  the  Legislature  or  by  municipal  or  dis- 
trict, authority;  but  the  entire  revenue  derived  from  the  State  school 
fund  and  the  State  school  tax  shall  be  applied  exclusively  to  the  support 
of  primary  and  grammar  grades." 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  by  the  adoption  of  the  new  constitution  by 
the  people  of  the  State,  high  schools  could  not  become  a  part  of  the  State 
system  of  schools.  It  is  true,  the  Legislature  might  establish  them,  but 
no  one  believed  that  any  Legislature  would  pass  an  act  so  opposed  to 
our  democratic  principles  as  to  require  a  community  to  support  a  high 
schoool  contrary  to  the  wishes  of  its  people.  It  would  be  putting  the 
ease  very  mildly  to  say  that  the  friends  of  secondary  education  were 
terribly  disappointed.  They  believed  that  the  public  sentiment  of  the 
State  was  prepared  to  make  high  schools  an  integral  part  of  the  school 
system,  and  to  bestow  upon  them  a  generous  portion  of  the  school  funds 
of  the  State.  But  the  die  was  cast;  high  schools  must  get  on  in  the 
future,  as  in  the  past,  by  the  sole  support  of  municipal  or  local  taxation. 

As  one  reviews  the  history  of  education  in  California  for  the  quarter 
of  a  century  that  has  elapsed  since  the  adoption  of  the  new  constitution 
lie  is  inclined  to  take  a  more  moderate  view  than  high  school  men  enter- 
tained at  that  time.  That  Section  6  of  Article  IX  expressed  the  honest 
and  mature  convictions  of  a  majority  of  the  framers  of  the  constitution 
no  one  has  ever  denied.  Whether  they  were  mistaken  or  not  remained 
for  coming  years  of  experience  to  determine.  When  the  new  Constitution 
became  operative  nearly,  if  not  quite,  all  the  cities  and  larger  towns 
had  organized  high  schools  and  were  supporting  them  by  local  taxation, 


. 


£ 


and  they  continued  to  do  so  after  tiny  learned  that  tin;  Slate  funds  could 
not  lie  used  to  assist  them.  Sometimes  a  cause  is  benefited  by  simply 
securing  the  attention  of  the  public.-  If  it  can  only  get  itself  squarely 
before  the  public  eye.  can  get  the  people  to  thinking  about  it  and  talking 
about  it.  then,  if  the  cause  possess  merit,  the  public  will  not  only  discern 
it.  hut  espouse  it  by  voice  and  action.  The  high  schools  of  the  State 
occupied  a  position  somewhat  similar  to  this  during  the  first  years  of  the 
new  (Constitution.  The  attention  of  the  public  was  early  directed  to  the 
situation  and  each  community  found  that  if  it  was  to  enjoy  the  advan- 
tages of  a  high  school  if  must  support  it.  This  led  to  an  investigation 
of  the  benefits  which  the  community  would  gain,  to  making  inquiries  of 
those  who  already  enjoyed  the  privileges,  of  a  high  school,  and  in  a  gen- 
eral way  to  obtaining  an  intelligent  view  of  the  situation.  As  a  result 
of  it  all  the  cause  of  secondary  education  did  not  suffer.  Xo  high  school 
\v;is  discontinued:  on  the  contrary,  new  ones  were  organized  in  many  of 
the  growing  districts  of  the  State.  And  more  than  all  this,  as  public 
ailuition  was  dim-ted  toward  them,  the  grade  of  the  high  schools  was 
raised,  an  element  of  competition  between  different  communities  was 
introduced  and  improved  methods  of  teaching  were  employed.  The 
high  school  took  a  prominent  place  on  the  programs  of  the  county  insti- 
tutes and  at  the  meetings  of  the  State  Association  of  Teachers  special 
sections  were  devoted  to  secondary  schools,  in  which  discussions  were 
held  on  all  matters  pertaining  to  their  condition  and  needs.  University 
professors  and  prominent  educators  from  other  States  took  a  prominent 
part  in  these  meetings  and  imparted  a  new  interest  in  the  cause  of  high 
schools.  Hence  taking  a  broad  and  temperate  view  of  the  entire  high 
school  situation,  of  their  growth,  of  their  improved  condition  and  of 
the  increased  interest  manifest  d  toward  them  by  the  public,  the  con- 
clusion is  evident  that  the  blow  struck  at  the  interests  of  secondary  educa- 
tion by  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1S7S  and  1879  was  not  as 
serious  as  it  \vas  feared  it  would  be.  and  that,  on  the  contrary,  it  bad  its 
redeeming  feaiures. 

After  the  new  condition  had  been  in  operation  a  few  years  a  new 
feature  of  advanced  instruction  in  the  schools  of  the  State  made  its  ap- 
pearance. There  were  many  districts  and  communities  throughout  the 
State  which  were  unable  to  bear  the  financial  burden  which  a  fully 
equipped  high  school  would  impose.  The  residents  of  these  districts 
saw  the  advantage  which  were  derived  from  the  establishment  of  high 
schools,  and  very  naturally  they  desired  to  participate,  in  them.  They 
conceived  and  carried  into  execution  a  plan  whereby  they  might  secure 
partial  if  not  the  entire  advantages  which  thev  would  gain  from  the 
organization  and  support  of  a  high  school  in  their  midst.  This  was 


10 

the  adoption  of  a  course  of  studv  supplementary  to  the  well  established 
grammar  grades  and  was  called  the  "grammar  school  course."  The 
hranehes  taught  included  a  sufficient  amount  of  mat  hemat  ics.  science, 
history  and  Knglish  language  to  enahle  the  pupils  taking  il  to  cuter 
one  of  the  scientific  colleges  or  the  agricultural  college  of  the  ("Diversity 
of  California.  This  was  claimed  by  its  promoters  to  be  not  a  high  school. 
hut  simply  an  extension  of  the  grammar  grade,  and  consequently,  could 
receive  its  quota  of  the  State  school  fund.  Thus  districts  in  which  the 
grammar  school  course  was  taught  were  enabled  to  enjoy  partial  ad- 
vantages which  a  fully  equipped  high  school  would  confer  without  the 
necessary  local  taxation.  I>\  an  act  of  the  State  Lcgi.-lature  in  March. 
1SST,  the  State  Controller  was  authorized  and  directed  to  appropriate 
three  dollars  from  the  State  school  fund  for  each  pupil  enrolled  in  the 
grammar  school  course  in  the  several  districts  of  the  State.  This  phase 
of  the  general  question  of  State  support  of  high  schools  did  not  remain 
in  operation  for  any  length  of  time.  The  question  as  to  whether  the 
State  school  fund  or  any  portion  thereof  could  be  legally  used  to  support 
the  so-called  grammar  school  course  was  frequently  discussed  by  the 
public  press  and  in  teachers'  conventions.  The  general  consensus  of 
opitt-km  finally  was  that  the  payment  of  any  portion  of  the  State  school 
fund  for  its  support  was  a  violation  of  the  State  Constitution,  and  ihe 
legislative  act  recognizing  it  was  repealed  in  1891. 

This  brief  episode  in  the  history  of  secondary  education  in  California 
!  'raining  beyond  what  the  ordinary  grammar  school  offered,  and 
emphasized  the  fact  that  the  people  were  conscious  of  the  value  of  a 
it  paved  the  way  for  an  amendment  to  the  Constitution. 

The  difficulties  under  which  sparsely  populated  communities  labored 
in  not  being  able  to  support  a  high  school  was  quite  satisfactorily  over- 
come by  an  act  of  the  Legislature  passed  in  1S!)1,  whereby  contiguous 
school  districts  could  unite  their  efforts  and  establish  a  union  high  school, 
As  a  preliminary  to  the  organization  of  such  a  school  a  special  election 
must  be  held  in  the  districts  which  proposed  to  join  in  the  support  of 
a  high  school,  and  if  it  was  shown  by  the  result  of  said  election  that  the 
qualified  voters  of  the  districts  interested  desired  the  school  and  were 
willing  to  be  taxed  for  its  support,  then  it  became  the  duty  of  the  Board 
of  Supervisors  of  the  county  in  which  the  districts  were  located  to  levy  a 
tax  upon  the  property  thereof  in  sufficient  amount  to  defray  the  expens<  s 
necissary  for  the  support  of  the  school.  As  a  result  of  this  law  quite  a 
number  of  union  high  schools  have  been  organi/ed  and  are  in  successful 
operation.  Their  effect  upon  the  general  educational  -rntiment  of  the 
State  cannot  be  o\vn>t  imated.  Their  influence  in  favor  of  an  educa- 
tion beyond  the  simple  rudiments  is  exerted  in  the  rural  districts  wl 


11 

it  is  particularly  needed;  besides  it  adds  an  attraction  to  the  country 
which  heretofore  was  enjoyed  exclusively  by  the  cities  and  larger  towns. 
The  union  high  school  is  destined  to  exert  a  far-reaching  and  favorable 
influence  upon  the  cause  of  secondary  education  in  California. 

Another  fact  must  not  be  overlooked  in  this  connection.  The  intro- 
duction of  the  union  high  school  system  in  California  brought,  in  a 
vital  way,  the  question  of  State  support  of  high  schools  to  a  large  num- 
ber of  people  who  heretofore  had  given  it  but  little  attention.  They 
were  led  to  see  the  incongruity  of  a  State  system  of  schools  which  fos- 
tered tlie  two  extremes,  but  left  them  without  a  connecting  link.  It  pro- 
vided for  the  support  of  schools  which  prepared  for  admission  to  the 
high  school  and  then  stopped,  refusing  to  render  assistance  in  making 
preparation  for  admission  to  the  State  University,  an  institution  which  it 
liberally  supported.  The  union  high  school  has  passed  the  experimental 
age;  its  adequacy  to  meet  the  wants  of  rural  districts  desiring  to  secure 
the  benefits  which  a  high  school  would  confer  has  been  practically  dem- 
onstrated by  a  successful  experience  of  twelve  years. 

In  the  early  history  of  California  the  term  high  school  was  vague  and 
indefinite.  Having  no  precise  signification,  it  was  frequently  used  when 
the  course  of  >tudv  failed  to  warrant  it.  Thus  it  very  naturally  came 
to  pass  that  several  -schools  in  which,  in  addition  to  the  ordinary  grain- 
mar  school  studies,  algebra  and  ancient  history  we're  added,  wen1  called 
by  their  patrons  high  schools.  Neither  custom  nor  decisions  by  com- 
petent school  authorities  had  fixed  a  limit  for  a  grammar  school  except 
in  a  very  general  way.  It  is  true  that  in  several  legislative  enactments 
it  is  stated  that  instruction  must  be  given  in  the  common  English 
lira  lie-lies,  but  prolonged  discussions  in  the  Constitutional  Convention 
of  1878-79  demonstrated  conclusively  that  its  members  differed  very 
radically  in  their  understanding  of  the  term  "•grammar  school." 

The  school  law  was  repeatedlv  re-enacted  during  the  life  of  the  tirsl 
Constitution  and  the  original  definition  of  a  grammar  school  was  sub- 
stantially modified.  Subsequent  legislative  action  providing  for  a  State 
Hoard  of  Education,  and  in  defining  its  duties  and  powers,  authorized 
it  to  grade  the  schools  of  the  State  and  to  adopt,  a  uniform  series  of 
text  hook,-  for  the  use  of  the  different  grades.  Section  17  of  an  Act 
|ias>ed  by  the  Legislature  in  1855  authorized  district  trustees  to  divide  the 
schools  in  their  respective  jurisdictions  into  primary,  grammar  and  high 
school  departments.  In  1863  County  Boards  of  Education  were  estab- 
lished, with  authority  to  issue  certificates  of  the  first,  second  and  third 
grades,  which  would  entitle  lhe  holders  thereof  to  teach  in  schools  of 
the  grammar,  intermediate  or  unclassified  and  primarv  grades,  re- 
<pertively.  The  Legislature  of  18(55  provided  thai  "all.  schools,  unless 


provided  for  by  special  law,  shall  he  divided  into  three  grades,  viz.:  First, 
second  and  third/'  Cities  having  a  Moanl  of  Education  governed  by 
special  laws  could  grant  cert  ificates  for  teaching  high  schools,  in  an 
act  passed  l>v  the  Legislature  of  lsi;!l-7n  the  provisions  of  the  preced- 
ing act  were  substantially  continued  in  force,  and  from  this  time  on 
to  the  monthly  of  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  ls<S-;i)  the  clari- 
fication of  the  schools  was  directed  by  the  State  lioard  nf  Education. 

During  the  entire  life  of  the  old  Constitution  no  adequate  provision 
was  made  for  the  issuance  of  high  school  certificates.  The  entire  num- 
ber  of  high  school  teachers  needed  in  the  State  wfis  so  limited  ihat 
methods  for  their  certification  occupied  hut  little  attention  hv  boards 
of  education  or  State  Legislatures.  It  was  the  custom  in  some  of  the 
larger  cities  at  first  to  select  high  school  teachers  from  those  in  the 
grammar  schools  who  had  been  successful  and  eflieient.  Then  followed 
a  period  during  which  the  State  Moan!  of  Kducation  issued  educational 
diplomas  and  life  diplomas  to  teachers  for  service  in  high  schools.  City 
Boards  of  Education  were  also  authorized  to  issue  high  school  certificate- 
upon  a  satisfactory  examination.  But  the  methods  used  for  cert  ideating 
high  school  teachers  were  more  or  less  desultory  and  lacking  in  uni- 
formity until  1S!),">,  when  a  committee  from  the  State  Teachers"  Asso- 
ciation recoiniiH  nded  -that  no  one  should  receive  a  high  school  cert  ill. 'ate 
who  had  not  had  an  equivalent  of  a  college  education,  and  this  recom- 
mendation prevails  at  the  present  time. 

A  movement  was  inaugurated  hv  the  Universitv  of  California  in 
1884,'  which  was  destined  to  fix  definitely  and  authoritatively  the  cur- 
ricula for  high  schools.  This  was  the  adoption  by  the  faculties  of  the 
university  of  a  plan  by  which  those  pupils  who  had  maintained  an  ex- 
cellent standard  during  their  high  school  course  might  he  admitted  to 
the  State  University  without  examination.  This  is  known  in  California 
a-s.  the  "accrediting  system."  and  as  it  lias  been  an  exceedingly  important 
factor  in  the  history  of  secondary  education  in  this  State,  it  may  be 
well  to  give,  in  brief,  its  main  provisions. 

First,  no  high  school  could  be  placed  on  the  accredited  list  au'ainsl 
its  consent;  as  a  prerequisite  it  must  request  the  favor.  This  condition 
having  been  complied  with  the  universitv  faculties  deputized  some  mem- 
bers of  its  body  to  visit  the  school  and  determine  by  a  careful  ami  thor- 
ough examination  whither  its  course  of  studv  and  its  methods  of  in- 
struction entitled  it  to  be  placed  on  the  accredited  list.  The  examiner- 
embraced  representatives  of  the  departments  of  ancient  languages,  math- 
ematics, history  and  science,  or  as  many  of  these  departments  as  the 
school  desired  to  be  accredited  in,  for  one  feature  of  the  system  is.  that 
it  admits  of  partial  accrediting.  The  time  at  which  these  examiners 


13 

made  their  visit  might  or  might  not  be  known  hy  the  teachers  of  the 
school;  practical iy.  it  made  no  difference,  as  no  amount  of  cramming 
would  sufficiently  prepare  the  pupils  for  the  examination.  The  exam- 
iners then  made  a  report  of  their  findings  to  the  faculties  of  the  uni- 
versity, who  decided  whether  the  school  should  he  placed  on  the  accredited 
list.  It'  the  decision  was  favorable  the  principal  of  the  school  was  noti- 
fied of  the  fact  and  for  the  next  scholastic  year  those  pupils  of  his.  who 
had  completed  its  prescribed  course  of  study  and  had  received  a  diploma 
certifying  to  that  fact,  were  entitled  to  admission  to  the  State  University 
on  his  recommendation;  without  this  personal  recommendation  the  pupil 
must  undergo  an  examination,  whatever  his  standing  in  the  high  school 
might  have  been.  This  feature  of  tire  accrediting  system  has  been  crit- 
icised because  of  the  power  it  places  in  the  hands  of  the  high  school 
principal,  but  an  experience  of  nearly  twenty  years  has  failed  to  pro- 
duce a  single  instance,  as  far  as  my  knowledge  extends,  wherein  this 
power  has  been  abused.  It  is  customary  for  the  principal  to  act  on  the 
recommendation  of  the  heads  of  the  different  departments  of  his  school, 
as  they  are  mo>t  familiar  with  the  attainments  of  the  pupils. 

In  1885  but  three  schools  in  the  State  requested  an  examination  for 
accrediting,  but  the  number  gradually  increased  year  by  year,  but  not 
as  rapidlv  as  might  have  been  expected.  One  reason  for  this  probably 
arose  from  the  fact  that  the  aims  and  work  of  the  university  were  not 
<T(  nerally  understood  by  the  people  of  California.  But  another  move- 
ment by  the  university  authorities  in  the  early  nineties  served  to  remove 
largely  this  impediment  and  to  bring  their  work  directly  before  the 
people.  This  was  the  inauguration  of  a  system  of  university  extension 
lectures  in  the  larger  cities  of  the  State.  Lecture  courses  were  given  free, 
or.  in  some  cases,  for  a  small  consideration.  (See  Appendix  A.)  These 
lecture  courses  were  well  attended  by  the  more  progressive  people  and 
they  served  to  create  a  desire  for  a  broader  culture. 

As  one  reflects  upon  the  general  attitude  of  the  people  of  California 
toward  secondary  and  higher  education  previous  to  the  adoption  of  the 
accrediting  system  and  a  systematized  course  of  university  extension 
lectures  and  of  the  change  which  they  wrought,  he  is  not  only  highly 
gratified,  but  is  amazed  at  the  result.  Apathy  yielded  to  a  lively  inter- 
est :  local  pride  was  stimulated  and  a  general  inquiry  was  aroused  as 
to  the  best  means  for  securing  an  entrance  to  the  university.  As  the 
secondary  school  was  the  only  door  through  which  one  could  pass  to 
reach  the  university,  it  will  readily  be  perceived  that  an  awakened  in- 
terest in  the  higher  education  had  a  stimulating  effect  upon  the  pros- 
perity of  the  high  school.  This  new  interest  dates  from  1885,  although 
for  a  few  years  a  change  was  scarcely  perceptible.  The  seed  was  sown 


14 

by  the  adoption  of  the  accrediting  system  and  the  inauguration  of  courses 
of  university  extension  lectures  a  few  years  later,  rendered  it  fruitful. 
^Beneficial  results  were  seen  not  only  in  the  increased  number  and 
efficiency  of  public  high  schools,  hut  of  -,\  general  awakening  and  im- 
provement of  private  secondary  schools  and  seminaries.  Thev  found 
it  necessary  to  fall  into  line  in  order  to  hold  their  pupils,  and  as  they 
did  so  they  enjoyed  a  generous  share  of  tin-  prosperity  which  befell  the 
iniblic  high  schools. 

At  a  meeiing  of  the  National  Educational  Association  held  in  1892 
a  resolution  was  adopted  which  directed  particular  attention  to  secondary 
education  throughout  the  whole  country,  and  California  shared  equally 
with  her  sister  States  in  this  new  awakening.  This  resolution  was  par- 
ticularly directed  toward  an  investigation  of  the  re<|iiiremeiits  for  col- 
lege entrance  and  toward  the  possibilities  of  making  them  more  uniform. 
As  a  result  of  this  resolution  ten  of  the  most  prominent  educators  in  the 
United  States  were  appointed  a  committee  to  make  a  careful  study  of 
the  question  and  report  at  a  future  meeting  of  the  Association. 

This  committee  entered  upon  the  work  with  commendable  zeal:  sub- 
committees were  appointed  to  investigate  and  report  to  the  general  com- 
mittee on  particular  subjects;  in  fact,  the  entire  scheme  of  education 
previous  to  entrance  to  college  was  reviewed  and  reported  upon.  The 
friends  of  elementary  education,  became  deeply  interested  in  the  labors 
of  the  committees  because  they  saw  that  their  conclusions  might  have 
an  important  bearing  upon  the  scope  of  their  work. 

So  deeply  interested  did  the  friends  of  education  throughout  the 
whole  country  become  that  at  a  subsequent  meeting  of  the  National  Ed- 
ucational Association  another  committee,  known  as  the  committee  of 
fifteen,  was  appointed  to  continue  the  investigation  already  commenced. 
This  committee  enlisted  in  its  labors  a  large  number  of  educational  ex- 
perts whose  duty  it  was  to  make  a  careful  and  detailed  study  of  those 
subjects  which  pertained  to  their  special  lines  of  work.  The  different 
reports  were  submitted  and  discussed  and  finally  published  in  conven- 
ient form  for  general  "distribution.  Both  State  associations  of  teachers 
and  county  institutes  made  these  reports  a  basis  for  'their  deliberations, 
and  thus  the  entire  educational  field  was  exploited,  with  the  important 
result  that  the  scope  of -the  high  school  was  fixed  and  a  general  under- 
standing reached  as  to  what  the  term  secondary  education  really  im- 
plied. This  alone  would  have  been  a  sufficient  recompense  for  the  labors 
of  the  committees,  but  practically  it  was  a  small  portion  only  of  the 
good  which  followed.  A  new  interest  was  taken  in  schools,  particu- 
larly in  the  subjects  to  be  taught  and  the  manner  of  their  p 
All  this  coming  as  it  did,  just  when  California  was  rejok:nir  in  an 


15 

educational  renaissance-,  gave  a  new  impetus  to  the  movemenl   inaugur- 
ated Itv  the  accredited  svstem  and  the  university  extension   In-iiins. 

Ueferince  should  ber  made  to  a  clause  in  the  new  Constitution  which 
guaranteed  the  admission  of  women  to  all  the  collegiate  departments 
of  the  State.  University.  Advantage  was  not  taken  of  this  provision 
immediately,  hut  when  the  full  meaning  of  what  it  implied  and  the 
means  for  preparation  were  multiplied,  it  was  eagerly  accepted  as  both 
a  wise  and  just  recognition  of  the  claims  of  women  to  a  share  in  the 
benefits  which  a  State  institution  afforded.  This,  it  will  be  readily  seen, 
gave  an  additional  impulse  to  the  cause  of  secondary  education  and 
rendered  the  multiplication  of  high  schools  necessary.  The  reaction 
of  this  movement  upon  the  high  schools  themselves  was  particularly 
beneficial,  in  that  vmmg  women,  by  the  assistance  of  a  thorough  peda- 
gogical department  in  the  university,  became  ujuipped  to  render  valuable 
service  in  the  high  schools. 

Tin-  following  table  shows  the  increase  in  public  high  schools  from 
1885  to  1903: 

No.  of  No.  Accredited. 

Year.  Schools.         Public.         Private.         Total. 

1SS5  12        3       ..         3 

1890  24:       11        2        13 

1895  US       43        14        57 

1900  10")       87       2.">       110 

1902 .139       !>:•!        22        115 

1UU3  143       !)!)       19       118 

In  1902  the  number  of  high  school  teachers  was  six  hundred  and 
six  and  the  total  high  school  enrollment  was  fourteen  thousand   four 
hundred  and  fifty-nine  pupils.     To  instruct  this  number  $1,007,646.30 
had  to  be  raised  by  the  several  communities  in  which  the  high  schools 
were  located.     In  addition  to  this  remarkable  increase  in  the  number 
of  public  high  schools,  private  secondary  schools  and  seminaries  enjoyed 
a  corresponding  share  of  the  general  prosperit}^.     The  number  of  those 
accredited  rose  from  one  in  1888  to  twenty-two  in  1902.     But  these  fig- 
ures only  partially  represent  the  remarkable  impetus  given  to  the  cause 
of  secondary  education  during  this  golden  period.     There  were  large 
lumbers  of  students  proper,  some  young,  some  in  middle  life  and  others 
who  had  passed  the  fifty-mile  stone,  who  were  enrolled  as  members 
'ie  University  Extension  Lecture  Courses,  and  by  a  regular  attend- 
.  supplemented  by  home  stud}',  obtained  a  fair  insight  into  their 

live  subjects. 

During  all  this  period  of  prosperity  there  still  lingered  a  feeling 
ig  the  friends  of  secondary  education  that  the  high  school  did  not 
py  that  position  in  the  State  systems  of  schools  which  its  importance 


demanded.  .It  \vu.-  not  forgotten  that  State  fund.-  were  used  to  support 
elementary  schools  and  the  university,  but  the  connecting  link,  the 
high  school,  was  left  to  be  provided  for  by  local  taxation,  which  was, 
to  say  the  least,  an  uncertain  quantity.  If  there  was  a  loud  erv  for  re- 
trenehnu'iit  the  high  school  fund  was  usually  the  one  to  be  reduced  to 
the  lowest  possible  limit.  It  could  not  be  expected,  under  thoe  cir- 
cumstances, that  a  persistent  effort  would  not  be  made  to  place  the  high 
school  when1  it  could  be  a  recipient  of  State  bounty.  After  much  dis- 
cussion by  the  school  people  of  the  State  the  Legislature  of  1JH»1  passnl 
a  resolution  by  which  a  proposed  amendment  to  the  Con>tit utien  might 
be  submitted  to  the  electors  of  the  State  for  approval  or  rejection.  This 
proposed  amendment  consisted  of  an  addition  to  Article  IX.  Section  \\, 
and  read  as  follows : 

"But  the  Legislature  may  authorize  and  cause  to  ho  levied  a  special 
State  school  tax  for  the  support  of  high  schools  and  technical  school-, 
or  either  of  such  schools,  included  in  the  public  school  s\>tem.  and  all 
revenue  derived  from  such  special  tax  shall  be  applied  exclusively  to  the 
support  of  the  schools  for  which  such  special  tax  shall  bo  levied." 

This  amendment  was  approved  by  a  vote  of  the  people  and  tin 
came  a  part  of  the  Constitution.  The  long  sought  for  condition  thus 
became  a  possibility,  and  it  only  needed  the  proper  legislative  action  to 
make  it  a  reality.  The  Legislature  of  190;>  amended  the  school  law  by 
the  passage  of  an  act  providing  for  State  support  of  high  schools,  whose 
salient  features  are.  that  until  190»i  an  ad  valorem  tax  of  one  and  one- 
half  per  cent  of  the  taxable  property  of  the  State  shall  he  levied  for  the 
support  of  regularly  established  high  schools,  and  after  1900  the  State 
Controller  shall  estimate  the  amount  necessary  to  support  the  high 
schools  of  the  State  and  shall  allow  •$!.">. 00  per  pupil  in  average  daily 
attendance:  one-third  to  go  to  high  schools,  irrespective  of  the  number 
of  pupils  and  two-thirds  appropriated  on  average  daily  attendance. 

Sufficient  time  has  not  elapsed  since  this  legislative  act  became  opera- 
tive to  determine  whether  the  plan  therein  fixed  upon  is  the  best  that 
could  he  devised.     It  has  received  considerable  adverse  criticism  by  de- 
voted friends  of  secondary  education.     All  rejoice  in  the  fact,  how 
that  the  high  school  is  a  recognized  part  of  the  State  system  of  sclv 
and  can  constitutionally  receive  State  funds  for  its  support. 

The  intimate'  relations  which  iu'ee.»arily  existed  bet  woeen  the  £ 
University  and  the  high  schools  in  consequence  of  the  influences  air 
recounted,  had  the  effect  of  definitely  fixing  the  status  of  the  high  s 
in  California.  Primarv  education  closes  with  a  fair  knowledge  of  ji 
metic.  English  grammar  and  the  use  of  the  English  language,  hi- 
of  the  United  States  and  the  elementary  principles  of  physio'.-.. 


OFTHI 

UNIVERSITY 

or 


17 

hygiene,  vocal  music  and  drawing.  The  high  school  takes  up  a  new  line 
of  studies,  each  of  which  is  limited  by  university  entrance  requirements. 
According  to  a  recent  university  register,  subjects  are  specified  in  which 
accrediting  may  be  given.  (Sin1  Appendix  B.)  The  smaller  high 
schools  are  not  able  to  take  up  so  varied  and  extensive  a  range  of  sub- 
jects as  this,  but  in  order  to  rank  as  high  schools  they  must,  at  least, 
prepare  their  pupils  in  all  the  subjects  necessary  for  entrance  to  one  of 
the  colleges.  The  larger  high  schools,  by  virtue  of  their  number,  both 
of  pupils  and  teachers,  are  enabled  to  offer  for  accrediting  the  entire 
list  of  subjects  submitted  by  the  university,  by  a  system  of  clectives, 
which  would  be  impracticable  in  a  small  school. 

It  will  be  readily  gathered  from  the  above  that  the  State  University 
exercises  a  predominating  influence  over  the  high  schools,  both  in  their 
courses  of  study  and  largely  in  the  method  in  which  the  several  subjects 
are  presented.  It  is  quite  natural  that  this  condition  should  cause  a 
certain  amount  of  adver.-e  criticism.  \Ve  are  told  that  the  high  schools 
should  stand  bv  themselves:  should  be  free  to  choose  that  course  of  study 
and  the  time  to  be  devoted  to  each  subject  which  the  patrons  of  each 
school  preferred:  that  the  industrial  conditions  of  the  State  are  so 
varied  that  high  school  uniformity  must  work  against  the  best  interests 
of  many  localities;  that  the  pupils  of  high  schools  located  in  fruit  grow- 
ing districts  should  be  taught  how  to  plant  and  care  for  trees,  and  how 
to  destroy  fruit  pests:  in  short,  the  school  should  be  made  practical. 
Other  critics  affirm  tha<t  preparation  for  college  or  university  is  not  the 
best  preparation  for  the  duties  of  life;  that  there  should  be  a  differenti- 
ation of  subjects  into  practical  and  culture  studies.  Discussions  on  these 
and  kindred  topics  have  occupied  the  public  press  and  have  been  fruit- 
ful sources  for  papers  read  a-t  teachers'  conventions.  Several  of  the 
most  prominent  writers  for  our  educational  journals  have  presented 
arguments  both  pro  and  con.  so  that  high  school  men  in  California  are 
quite  familiar  with  what  has  been  said  upon  this  important  subject. 

But  in  spite  of  all  that  has  been  said  and  written,  the  work  of  central- 
ization moves  steadily  on.  The'  university  decides  what  the  work  of 
ihe  high  school  shall  be  and  through  the  high  school  exerts  an  influence 
upon  primary  education.  To  enter  upon  a  discussion  as  to  whether  this 
is  the  wisest  arrangement  or  not  is  not  pertinent  to  the  purpose  of  this 
paper.  I  simply  refer  to  this  question  as  having  bad  its  influence  upon 
the  development  of  secondary  education  in  this  State,  and  also  as  being 
an  unsettled  question. 

The  development  of  secondary  education  in  California  was  substan- 
tially along  the  same  lines  as  those  pursued  in  the  older  States.  The 
courses  of  study  and  the  methods  of  teaching  did  not  differ  materially 


18 

from  those  adopted  by  .(ho  high  schools  of  Massachusetts  or  Michigan, 
still  it  may  ho  interesting  t<>  note  particularly  tho  changes  whioh  oc- 
ourrod  in  tlio  presentation  of  some  of  the  subjects.  In  the  earlier  days 
the  courses  of  study  embraced  mathematics  (algebra  and  geometry),  the 
:meii  nt  and  modern  languages,  science  and  Knglish  literature. 

Probably  the  fewest  changes  in  methods  of  presentation  by  the 
teacher  have  boon  made  in  the  languages,  both  ancient  and  modern. 
Tli ore  has  boon  a  decided  improvement  in  text  books,  but  nothing  can 
take  the  place  of  that  accurate  memorizing  so  absolutely  noeessarv  in 
gaining  the  rudiment-  of  a  foreign  language.  The  tocher  of  mathe- 
matics, however,  has  materially  improved  upon  the  mothods  pursu-'d  by 
his  predecessors.  The  principal  advantage  to  be  gained  by  the  prosecu- 
tion of  this  study  is  the  unfolding  of  the  reasoning  faculties,  and  if  it 
is  made  largely  a  memoriter  exercise,  as  it  was  in  the  olden  time,  the 
greatest  good  is  not  realized.  This  remark  applies  particularly  to  the 
studv  of  theorems  in  geometry.  Teachers  of  mathematics  in  California 
high  schools,  at  the  present  time,  give  particular  attention  to  original 
demonstrations.  A  single  step  in  reasoning  at  first  gives  strength  and 
encouragement  for  others  which  follow,  so  that  in  time  the  pupil  be- 
comes able  to  give  a  complete  original  demonstration  for  a  geometrical 
theorem.  Bv  this  training,  as  he  meets  with  the  difficult  problems  which 
arise  in  his  life  work  he  is  enabled  to  fortify  his  judgments  by  realizing 
that  they  were  reached  by  rational  processes. 

In  none  of  the  high  school  studies  have  greater  changes,  taken  place 
in  methods  than  in  the  entire  range  of  the  natural  sciences.  I'p  to  the 
present  time1  there  have  been  three  stages  of  development.  At  first  the 
science  was  learned  exclusively  from  a  book.  It  is  true  there  were  some 
illustrations  of  experiments  to  aid  the  comprehension  of  the  pupil,  but 
the  experiments  themselves  were  few  and  far  between.  Whatever  knowl- 
edge the  pupil  obtained  was  at  the  expense  of  the  power  of  the  imagina- 
tion, hence  this  may  be  called  the  imagination-developing  period.  This, 
however,  gave  wav  in  time  to  a  decided  improvement  in  science  teaching, 
for  the  pupil,  instead  of  studying  illustrations,  was  required  to  observe1 
carefullv  what  the  teacher  did  when  he  mixed  the  chemicals  and  manip- 
ulated the  air-pump  and  the  electrical  machine.  This  \\as  the  observa- 
tion period.  From  seeing  the  teacher  perform  the  experiments  to  the 
next  step,  in  which  the  pupils  themselves  made  the  experiments  and 
took  clown  dn  their  note  books  whatever  changes  they  observed,  was  a 
natural  transition,  and  it  brings  us  to  the  experiment-making  period. 
This  change  involved  a  complete  revolution  in  the  equipment  for  science 
teaching  in  the  high  schools,  for  there  must  be  a  complete  laboratory 
sufficiently  extensive  to  accommodate  all  the  pupils  of  the  school.  The 


19 

chemical  laboratory  must  be  provided  with  reagent?,  tables,  sinks,  run- 
ning water,  gas  and  numberless  other  conveniences  which  would  he  re- 
quired for  performing  the  experiments  in  a  course1  in  chemist  rv  suf- 

I  <^  1 

ficienlly  comprehensive  for  entrance  to  the  university.  Another  labora- 
tory equally  elaborate,  but  entirely  different  in  the  apparatus  used,  nuis; 
be  provided  for  students  in  physics  and  still  another  with  its  microscopes 
for  classes  in  biology.  The  adoption  of  the1  laboratory  methods  in  Cal- 
ifornia for  teaching  the  natural  sciences  was  largely  due  to  the  influence 
of  the  university.  The  change  involved  a  large  expense,  but  the  ad- 
vantages it  possesses  over  the  old  methods  are  so  apparent  that  fairly 
well  equipped  laboratories  are1  found  in  nearly  all  the  high  schools  of 
the  State. 

The  fourth  subject  embraced  in  the  high  school  curriculum  was 
formerly  denominated  English  literature,  but  in  university  and  high 
school  schedules  of  the  present  day  it  is  known  by  the  comprehensive 
term  of  English.  It  is  within  the  memory  of  many  who  may  read  this 
paper  that  during  their  preparatory  course  for  college  they  studied 
English  literature,  at  least  that  was  the  name  given  to  the  subject,  hut 
in  reality  they  gave  little  or  no  attention  to  literature  per  *r,  but  to  the 
biographies  of  authors,  together  with  the  titles  of  their  works.  In  lS?f> 
the  Oakland  High  School  inaugurated  a  change  whereby  the  produc- 
tions of  standard  authors  should  be  studied  rather  than'  their  biogra- 
phies. "The  Lady  of  the  Lake"  and  the  "Merchant  of  Venice''  wore 
objects  of  discussion  instead  of  the  lives  of  Sir  \Valter  Scott  and 
Shakespeare.  To  the  best  of  mv  knowledge  this  was  the  beginning  of 
a  movement  which  in  a  few  years  produced  a  complete  revolution  in  the 
study  of  English  literature,  not  only  in  California,  but  throughout  the 
whole  country.  Henceforth  the  study  was  scheduled  as  English  by  high 
schools  and  universities. 

About  this  time  a  new  professor  came  to  the  Lniversity  of  Califor- 
nia r.s  head  of  the  department  of  English  Literature,  who  by  his  labors 
with  hi.---  own  classes  and  by  calling  together  principals  and  teachers  of 
high  scl-nt  ols  for  discussion,  the  new  movement  was  not  only  approved, 
but  in  a  brief  time  it  was  adopted  by  most  of  the  high  schools  of  the 
State.  At  the  present  time  English  occupies  a  prominent  position  in 
the  course  of  study  of  all  secondary  schools.  This  change  is  also  largely 
responsible  for  the  elimination  of  .  formal  rhetoric  from  secondary 
schools.  Attempting  to  understand  the  principles  of  the  style  of  a  given 
literary  production  without  a  comprehensive  view  of  several  authors' 
works  is  on  a  par  with  gaining  a  knowledge  of  the  currents  of  the  ocean 
by  studying  a  bucket  of  water. 

In  view  of  the  changes  effected  in  the  methods  of  teaching  in  the 


20 


schools  of  the  Stale  dur'::g  I  he  last  quarier  of  a  century  and 
in  the  additional  fact  that  the  schools  are  taught  !>v  a  hodv  of  teachers 
unsurpassed  for  intelligence  and  for  devotion  to  their  profession,  ('al- 
ifornia  is  ready  to  have  her  secondary  schools  compared  with  these  of 
any  Stale  in  the  Tnion.  The  discouragements  and  advorsitits  of  early 
vears  did  not  dishearten  the  friends  of  secondary  education  in  the  cause 
to  which  thev  were  so  thoroughly  devoted,  hut.  rather,  thev  were  fired 
with  a  renewed  zeal,  confident  thai  in  time  their  efforts  would  he  re- 
warded. They  fully  realize  also  thai  constant  change  is  hoth  a  condi- 
i  tion  and  evidence  of  life;  that  without  change  there  must  come  stagna- 
tion and  death.  Thev  also  recognize  the  fact  that  the  solution  of 
past  problems  only  reveals  new  ones  for  the-  future.  Perfection  is  still 
a  dream  unfulfilled. 

In  the  genera]  strife  to  make  each  of  the  divisions  of  the  State  sys- 
tem of  schools  complete  there  is  clanger  in  giving  too  much  attention 
to  the  perfection  of  the  grade  and  too  little  to  the  interests  of  those  for 
whom  the  grades  are  organized.  As  atp  resent  j^jma^liiuted,  the  ele- 


require  eight  vears^nun-  ve-,ir-;  I'm-  the  primary  and    four 
years   forthe  grammar   departm^nT.   tin-   hiuh_._schools^four   years,   the 


fou£__vears  and  the  professional  sclioool  four_years^s°  thai.  "if 
a  fui^u^ojnJjiTs  the  primary  schooTat  t  h  ea"^ojL>^\  .  t'lu1  ky^l  >ehn^j_j\<ye 
in^C-alifornia,  and  continues  in  regular  course  through  the  sueceejjng 
d  epartnients.  he  will  1  1  a  v  (  >  r  eac  1  u  •  (  .rTn7r~7r*nr'  <  >  f  _J^2S\  t  i  .v-  years  1  u44-m.L  h  t  • 
isTi'ady  to-^^oqmnence  his  professional  work.  This  time  may  he  reduced 
one  year  for  those  who  expect  to  engage  jn  "medical  prac'ticc  bv  taking  a 
prescribed  course  .in  the  university.  All  will  agree  that  there  must  he 

f    1  1  :  e 


rs_of  one's  life  to  get  ready.  This  problem  is  too  important  to 
be  thrust  aside:  it  touches  life"7m  tort  many  sides;  besides  the  educational 
phase,  there  is  the  eommmercial,  and,  more  than  all  others  combined,  the 
social  aspect;  for  any  inrlucnee  that  has  a  tendency  to  locsen  the  bonds 
which  hold  society  together  in  organized  families  should  receive  the 
strongest  disapprobation.  There  must  be  an  earlier  differentiation  of 
^t.udies.  the  work  of  the  studenThuisthe  "more  intensive'.  JjilLaimst^  sooner 
ilecide  his  life  worlc^^H^eTpeiiTiliis  e{t\7r7rTtlTrt444^)ward  that  ,i:oal.  •  It 
may  be  said  that  such  a  course  will  make  him  narrow  minded,  but  this 
objection  will  have  little  weight  at  the  present  day.  when  one's  general 
reading  covers  broad  grounds.  President  Harper  say.-:  "The  high 
school  is  no  longer  a  school  preparatory  for  college.  In  its  most  fully 
developed  form  it  covers  at  least  one-half  the  ground  of  the  college  fifty 
years  ago.  It  is  a  real  college:  at  all  events,  it  provides  the  earlier  part 
of  a  college  course."  But  will  the  college  grant  diplomas  in  two  years 


21 

to  those  students  who  have  taken  a  full  four-year  course  in  the  high 
school?  Or  will  the  high  school  reduce  its  requirements  so  that  one 
or  two  years  may  In-  saved?  These  are  vital  questions  for  both  colleges 
am!  high  schools.  The  character  of  the  future  high  school  as  well  as 
the  scope  of  secondary  education  are  problems  requiring  a  wider  experi- 
ence for  their  solution  than  we  now  possess. 


22 
APPENDIX  A, 

Extension  Courses* 

J891-92, 

With  a  view  to  the  extension  of  the  advantages  of  the  University  to 
teachers  and  other  persons  whose  engagements  will  not  permit  them  to  go  to 
Berkeley,  courses  of  instruction  will  be  offered  during  the  year  1891-92  in 
San  Francisco.  It  may  be  expected  that  other  Courses  will  be  added  in  sub- 
sequent years. 

Persons  who  offer  to  do  systematic  work  in  the  Extension  Courses,  and  to 
take  examinations  in  them  will  be  enrolled  as  Attendants  upon  Extension 
Courses.  Attendants  who  pass  satisfactory  examinations  will  be  entitled  to 
receive,  from  the  University,  Certificates  of  Record  of  the  work  done,  which 
may  be  accredited  to  their,,  upon  their  scholarship  records,  if  they  subse- 
quently become  students  of  the  University. 

Visitors  may  be  admitted  to  Extension  Courses  at  the  discretion  of  the 
professors  in  charge. 

Persons  desiring  to  enroll  themselves  for  these  Courses  are  requested  to 
communicate  either  with  the  professors  in  charge,  or  with  the  Recorder. 

During  1891-92,  Extension  Courses  will  be  offered  in  San  Francisco  as 
follows  : 

PHILOSOPHY 

The  Essential  Problems  of  Philosophy  and  the  Course  of  its 
History  from  Descartes  through  Kant.  A  Course  of  about  twenty  lec- 
tures. Once  or  twice  a  week,  at  times  to  be  determined.  Professor  HOWISON. 

HISTORY  AND  POLITICAL  SCIENCE 

The  Transition  from  the  Renaissance  to  the  Reformation.     A 

Course  of  lectures  once  a  week  during  the  first  term.  First  Unitarian  Church, 
corner  Franklin  and  Geary  Streets,  Monday  evenings,  at  eight  o'clock.  Asso- 
ciate Professor  BACON. 

Another  Course  on  some  suitable  topic  in  history  or  political  science  may 
be  given  during  the  second  term  by  some  other  member  of  the- Department. 

ENGLISH 

A.  Shakepeare's  Tragedies  :     Julius  C^sar,  Richard  III.,  Hamlet, 
Othello,  Macbeth,   King    Lear,  and    Coriolanus.      Fifteen    lectures,  accom- 
panied by  class  essays  and  discussions,  during  the  first  term.     Academy  of 
Sciences,  Friday  afternoons,  3:45-5:45. 

Open  to  all  adults  qualified  to  perform  the  work  of  the  Course.  Visitors 
are  admitted.  Professor  GAYLEY. 

B.  History  of  the  English  Language.     Two  hours  a  week  during 
the  second  term.     Assistant  Professor  LANGE. 

Or  Historieal  and  Comparative  English  Grammar.  One  hour  a 
week  of  lecture,  followed  by  one  hour  of  conference  and  discussion,  during 
the  second  term.  Associate  Professor  BRADLEY. 

MATHEMATICS 

Propaedeutic  to  the  Higher  Analysis.  A  knowledge  of  elementary 
geometry,  trigonometry,  and  analytic  geometry  is  prerequisite  for  the  Course. 
Girls'  High  School  building.  Golden  Gate  Avenue,  Saturday  mornings,  at 
10:30.  The  Course  will  continue  through  most  of  the  school  year.  Professor 
STRINGHAM. 


APPENDIX  B. 


State  High  School  Fund. 


<'ounty. 

Name  of  School. 

Ave'ge  Daily 
Attendance. 

Apportion- 
ment on  yt 
Basis. 

Apportion- 
ment on 
Attendance. 

_0 

si- 

S3* 

ALAMEDA  

BUTTE  
COLUSA 

\laineda  "... 
Berkeley  
Oakland      

325 
508 
836 
263 
44 
56 
64 

46 
14 

48 

47 

36 

$382  50 
382  50 
382  50 
382  50 
382  50 
382  50 
382  50 

382  50 
382  50 
382  50 

382  50 
382  50 

,$2,564  25 
4,008  12 
6,596  04 
2,075  07 
347  16 
441  84 
504  96 

362  94 
110  46 

378  72 

370  83 

284  04 

$2,946  75 
4,390  62 
6,978  54 
2,457  57 
729  65 
824  34 
887  46 

Oakland  Polytechnic-    . 
I  1  1  i  <  >  n  X  <  >  1                 ... 

Union  No.  2    
Union  No.  3    

Total  
Chico 

$19,214  94 

745  44 
402  96 
771  22 

Gridley    
Oroville  

Total 

$1,999  62 

753  33 

666  54 

Col  usa 

CONTRA  COSTA  . 

DEI,  XOKTE  
FRESNO  

Pierce  Joint  Union     .  . 
Total 

$1,419  87 

611  31 
737  55 
611  31 

556  08 

$2,516  25 
548  19 
$548  19 

524  52 

587  64 
674  43 
2,481  24 
713  88 
1,084  71 
800  67 

Alhambra  Union  
Mount  Diablo  Union.  . 
Job  n  Swett  Union.  .  .  . 
Liberty  Union  

Total 

29 
45 
29 
22 

382  50 
382  50 
382  50 
382  50 

228  81 
355  05 
228  81 
173  58 

Del  Xorte  County  .... 
Total  

21 

382  50 

165  69 

Alta  Joint.  . 

18 
26 
37 
266 
42 
89 
53 

382  50 
382  50 
382  50 

?82  50 
382  50 
382  50 
382  50 

142  02 
205  14 
291  93 
2,098  74 
331  38 
702  21 
418  17 

Clovis  Union  

Fowler  Union  
Fresno  
Sanger  Union  
Selina  Union 

Washington  Union  .  . 
Total  

$6,867  09 

k               County. 

Name  of  School.              «'5 
|| 

B-"             a     8                 a 

.2s             .2  g  5                 .2 

GLENN 

Glenn  County.  . 

29 
17 

$382  50 
382  50 

$228  81 
134  13 

$611  31 
516  63 

HUMBOLDT  
INYO 

Orland  Joint  Union.    . 

Total    

$1,127  94 

619  20 
1,092  60 

Arcata  Union  
Eureka  

30 
90 

382  50 

382  50 

236  70 
•710  10 

Total 

$1,711  80 
563  97 

Bishop 

23 

382  50 

181  47 

KERX  
KINGS    

L  VKE 

Total  

$563  97 
1,550  22 
$1,550  22 

1,281  96 
540  30 

Kern  County  
Total 

148 

114 
20 

47 

382  50 

382  50 
382  50 

1,167  72 

899  46 

157  80 

Hanford  Union  
Lemoore  

Total 

$1,S22  26 
753  33 
$753  33 

611  31 
650  76 
824  34 
634  98 
540  30 
650  76 
848  01 
4,800  90 
1,210  95 
777  00 
611  31 
2,654  82 
1.250  40 
579  75 
650  76 
729  66 

Clear  Lake  Union  .... 

382  50 

370  83 

LOS  ANGELES.  .  . 
M  VDEKA 

Total 

Alhambra  .... 
Citrus  Union  

29 
34 
56 
32 
20 
34 
59 
560 
105 
50 
29 
288 
110 
25 
34 
44 

382  50 
382  50 
382  50 
382  50 
382  50 
382  60 
382  50 
382  50 
382  50 
382  50 
382  50 
382  50 
382  50 
382  50 
382  50 
382  50 

228  81 
268  26 
441  84 
252  48 
157  80 
268  26 
465  51 
4,418  40 
828  45 
394  50 
228  81 
2,272  32 
867  90 
197  25 
268  26 
347  16 

Compton  Union  

Covina     .  . 

Kl  3Ionte  Union  
Glcndale  Union  
Long  Beach  
Los  Angeles  
Los  Angeles  (Commercial) 

Los  NietosValley  Union 
.Monrovia  

Pasadena  City 

Pomona  City   

San  Fernando  Union    . 
Santa  Monica  City.  .  .  . 
Whitt  ier    

Total  

$18,026  01 
690  21 

Mad  era  

39 

382  50 

307  71 

Total  .  . 

$690  21 

25 


County. 

Name  of  School. 

J^  OJ              |                                  ,         <U 

•~  O            —     "                          rj         w 

£§      3V              Sai 

.  -o     r  o           r.  c  ^ 

CV  £                *    *-*    y*                           ~  +j    £ 

'^     §:Ss        £p 

^      .«2s     :       <fl«: 

§ 

s  . 

*Q,B 

00-2 

H^  a 

MARIN  
MENDOCINO   .... 

MERCED  
MONTEREY  
NAP\ 

San  Rafael  
Total  

70 

27 
44 
80 

86 
25 

.|382  50 

382  50 
382  50 
382  50 

382  50 

382  50 

382  50 
382  50 

1552  30 

213  03 
347  16 
631  20 

678  54 
197  25 

$934  80 

$934  80 

559  53 
729  66 
1,013  70 

Fort  Bragg  Union  .... 
Mendocino  

Ukiah    . 

Total  

Merced  
West  Side  Union     

Total    

$2,338  89 

1,061  04 
579  75 

$1,640  79 

753  33 
1,218  84 

Pacific  Grove  
Sa  linas  

47 

106 

370  83 
836  34 

Total      .    .  . 

$1,972  17 

974  25 

658  65 

Napa 

75 
35 

382  50 

382  50 

591  75 
276  15 

NEVADA       .    .. 

St.  Helena  Union  
Total  

$1,632  90 

879  57 
627  09 
942  69 

Grass  Valley  

63 
31 
71 

382  50 
382  50 
382  50 

497  07 
244  59 
560  19 

ORANGE 

Meadow  Lake  Union  .  . 
Nevada  City   

Total  

$2,449  35 

871  68 
863  79 
2,552-25 

\  iiaheim 

62 
61 

275 

68 

27 
34 
13 
26 
14 
252 
20 

382  50 
382  50 
382  50 

382  50 

382  50 
382  50 
3S2  50 
382  50 
382  50 
382  50 
382  50 

489  18 
481  29 

2,161)  75 

536  52 

213  03 

268  26 
102  57 
205  14 
110  46 

1,988  28 
157  80 

PLACER 

Fullcrton  Union  

Sa  nta  A  na  Citv 

Total  
Placer  County  
Total      . 

$4,287  72 
919  02 

RIVERSIDE  

$919  02 

595  53 
650  76 
485  07 
587  64 
492  96 
2,370  78 
540  30 

Banning    
Corona  .  .          

Elsinore  

Hemet  Union  
Perris  Union  

Riverside 

San  .Tacinto 

T/~.f  ol 

«K  7OQ    i\A 

26 


County. 

Name  of  School. 

Ave'ge  Daily 
Attendance. 

Apportion- 
ment on  '  .j 
Basis. 

Apportion- 
ment on 
Attendance. 

Total 
Apportion- 
ment. 

SACRAMKNTO  ..  . 

SAN   BENITO  .... 
SANBERNARDI'O 

SAN  DIEGO  

SAN  FRANCISCO. 

SAX   JOAQUIN... 
SAX  LUISOBISPO 

SAX    MATED  

Elk  Grove 

22 
303 

41 

$382   50 

382  50 

382  50 

$173  58 
2,390  67 

323  49 

.$556  08 
2,773  17 

Sacramento    

Total  
Hollister   

$3,329  25 
705  99 

Total 

$705  99 

462  40 
666  54 
453  51 
1,076  82 
2,118  38 
1,739  58 

Chino  . 

10 

36 
9 

88 
220 
172 

14 

20 
74 
27 
26 
13 
300 

282  50 
382  50 
382  50 
352  50 
382  50 
382  50 

382  50 
382  50 
382  50 
382  50 
382  50 
382  50 
382  50 

78  90 
284  04 
71  01 
694  32 
1,735  80 
1,357  08 

110  46 
157  80 
583  86 
213  03 
205  14 
94  68 
2,367  00 

Colton    

Needles  (first  year)   .  .  . 
Ontario   
Kedlands  
San  Bernardino        .  .    . 

Total 

$6,516  15 

402  96 
540  30 
966  36 
595  53 

587  64 
477  18 
2,749  50 

Cuyarnaca               
El  Cajon  Valley  .  . 
Escondido  
Fallbrook           

National  City     .  .  . 
Ramomi  
San  Diego  ... 

Total    

$6,409  47 

4,540  53 
4,398  51 
5,148  06 
2,583  81 
2,268  21 

Girls 

r>27 

509 
604 
279 
239 

382  50 
382  50 
382  50 
382  50 
382  50 

4,158  03 

4,016  01 
4,765  56 
2,201  31 
1,885  71 

Hnmboldt  
Lowell  
Mission  

Polytechnic  

Total    

$18,939  12 

855  90 
2,378  67 

Lodi   .    
Stockton   

Total 

60 
253 

382  50 
382  50 

473  40 
1,996  17 

$3,234  57 

540  30 

808  56 
808  56 

Arroyo  Grande  ..... 
Paso  Robles    

20 
54 
54 

382  50 
382  50 

382  50 

157  80 
426  06 
426  06 

Sa.n  Luis  Obispo 

Total 

$2,157  42 

571  86 
1,068  93 

$1,640  79 

San  Mateo  Union      .  . 
Sequoia  Union  

Total    . 

24 
87 

382  50 
382  50 

189  36 
686  43 

27 


County. 

Name  of  School 

Ave'ge  Daily 
Attendance. 

Apportion- 
ment on  '  ., 
Basis. 

Apportion- 
ment on 
Attendance. 

§ 

3&S 

o»2 
H«:a 

SANT  \  B  ^RB  V  R  V 

Lompoc                          •  • 

51 

$382  50 

$402  39 

$784  89 

Santa  Barbara   
Santa  Maria     

153 
71 

382  50 
382  50 

1,207  17 
560  19 

1,589  67 
942  69 

Santa  Ynez  Valley    .  . 

14 

382  50 

110  46 

492  96 

Total 

$3810  21 

SANTA   CLARA  .  . 

Campbell    
Gilroy  
Los  Gatos     
Mountian  View 

45 
54 

58; 

99 

382  50 
382  50 
382  50 
382  50 

355  05 
426  06 
457  62 

173  58 

737  55 
808  56 
840  12 
556  08 

8  A  XT  A   CRUZ  

Palo  Atlo  
San  Jose  
Santa  Clara    

Total    
^anta  Cru/>  

101 

482 
117 

13* 

382  50 
382  50 
382  50 

382  50 

796  89 
3,802  98 
923  13 

1,088  82 

1,179  39 
4,185  48 
1,305  63 

$9,612  81 
1.471  3-7 

\Vatsonville  

90 

3S2  50 

710  10 

1,092  60 

Total    

$2,563  92 

SI  I  VST\ 

Sliasta  County 

85 

782  50 

670  (>5 

1053  15 

Total    

$1,053  15 

SISKIYOU 

Etna  Union 

31 

382  50 

244  59 

627  09 

Siskivou  County  

51 

382  50 

402  39 

784  89 

Total      

$1,411  98 

SOLANO  

Annijo  Union    .    . 

46 

382  50 

362  94 

745  44 

Benicia          

:;T 

382  50 

291  93 

674  43 

Dixon  Union  
Vacaville  .....    
Vallejo 

29 
86 
59 

382  50 
382  50 
382  50 

228  81 
678  54 
465  51 

611  31 
1,061  04 
848  01 

Total 

$3940  23 

SONOMA     . 

Cloverdale 

11 

382  50 

86  79 

469  29 

Healdsburg  

63 

382  50 

497  07 

879  57 

Petaluma 

7-? 

382  50 

568  08 

950  58 

Santa  Rosa  
Sonoma  Valley  

136 
34 

382  50 
382  50 

1,073  04 
268  26 

1,455  54 
650  76 

Total      .  . 

$4,405  74 

STANISLAUS 

Modesto 

6-7 

382  50 

489  18 

871  68 

Oakdale  

Total    . 

37 

382  50 

291  93 

674  43 
$1,546  11 

28 


County. 

Name  of  School. 

Avt-'ge  Daily 
Attendance. 

a^ 

O  *-•  'ft 

&n 

<  s« 

Apportion- 
ment on 
Attendance. 

o 

3  §.S 

o  =~v 

£•<  = 

SUTTER 

Butter  City 

30 

$382  50 

$236  70 

$<>19  20 

TEHAMA  
TULARE 

Total    

$619  20 
1142  69 
$942  69 

no:;  42 

887  40 
1,345  08 
1,408  20 

Red  Bluff  

71 

382  50 

560  19 

Total      . 

Dinuba  
Portervillc 

28 
64 
12-? 
130 

382  50 
382  50 
382  50 
382  50 

220  92 
504  96 
962  58 
1,025  70 

VENTURA  
YOLO  .      . 

Tulare   .  . 

Visalia  
Total    

,$4,244  16 

642  87 
1,029  48 
1,431  87 

$3,104  22 

469  29 
516  63 
974  25 

Oxnard  

33 

82 
133 

382  50 
382  50 
382  50 

260  37 
646  98 
1,049  37 

Santa  Paula     
Ventnra  

Total    

Esparto   . 
Winters  Joint  
Woodland  

11 
17 
75 

382  50 
382  50 
382  50 

86  79 
134  13 
£91  75 

YUBA   

Total    

$1,960  17 
1,195  17 

Marysville  

103 

382  50 

812  67 

Total    . 

$1,195  17 

Total  number  of  High  Schools  entitled  to  receive  State  aid  .June 

30,  1903.            143 

Total  average  daily  attendance  in  such  schools  .... 13,860 

Rate  per  school  on  the  one-third  basis   $      382  50 

Rate  per  child  on  average  daily  attendance     7  89 

Amount  apportioned  on  one-third  basis     -. 54,697  50 

Amount  apportioned  on  average  daily  attendance 109,355  40 

Amount  remaining  unapportioned 40  48 


:_£_  ~i     \( 


The  California  System  of  Training 
Elementary  Teachers 


A    MONOGRAPH 

BY  C.  C.  VAN  LIEW 

PRESIDENT  OF  STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL,  CHICO,  CAL. 


PUBLISHED     BY 

DEPARTMENT    OF    EDUCATION 

CALIFORNIA  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE   EXPOSITION 
=  COMMISSION  = 

SAN    FRANCISCO,   CAL.,  19O4 

0(7='  = 


\\ 


The  California  System  of  Training 
Elementary  Teachers 


•3,05 
By  C  C  VAN  LIEW 


The  California  System  of  Training 
Elementary  Teachers 


By  C  C  VAN  LIEW 


California  possesses  five  Normal  Schools.  Named  in  the  order  of 
their  establishment,  they  are  the  State  Normal  Schools  at  San  Jose, 
Los  Angeles.  (1hico.  San  Diego,  and  San  Francisco:  These  five  schools 
represent  a  system  which  presents  at  once  two  unique  and,  in  the  light 
of:  the  State's  educational  needs,  effective  features,,  unity  and  individu- 
ality. It  will  he  necessary,  l  here  fore,  to  consider  them  both  collectively 
a ud  individually.  The  local  autonomy  which  the  law  has  permitted  and 
the  conservative  standards  which  the  law  has  required,  combined  with 
the  widely  different  local  conditions  which  have  surrounded  each  school, 
made  these  schools  jirst  markedly  individual.  More  recently  they  have 
begun  to  represent  a  better  unity,  by  becoming  more  cooperative  and 
more  conscious  of  common  issues  and  interests.'  We  turn  first,  therefore. 
to  their  individual  histories. 

HISTORICAL  RESUME. 

„  T  In  point  of  fact  the  first  normal  school  work  undertaken  in 
the  State  was  initiated  by  San  Francisco  and  under  the  leader- 
ship of  such  men  as  C.'mrge  \V.  Minns,  principal;  John  Swett,  Ellis  H. 
Holmes,  and  Thomas  S.  Myrick.  They  conducted  a  city  normal  school, 
which  met  weekly;  at  first  on  Saturday,  then  Monday  evenings.  All 
the  city  teachers  were  required  to  attend.  The  school  was  established 
in  is.") 7'  and  ran  until  18*62.  Another  similar  school  was  established  in 
is;-^  under  the  principalship  of  John  Swett;  it  lasted  two  years. 

It  was  undoubtedly  these  early  efforts  which  contributed  to  the 
agitation  in  behalf  of  a  State  normal  school,  resulting  in  its  establish- 


ment  in  May,  1862,  and  in  an  appropriation  of  $3,000  for  five  months' 
support. 

The  school  first  opened  on  Powell  Street,  in  San  Francisco,  with 
six  pupils,  this  niimher  being  increased  to  thirty-one  In-fore  the  end  of 
the  first  term.  In  order  to  keep  the  school  in  touch  with  ihe  entire 
State,  the  attendance,  though  limited  to  sixty,  was  distributed  so  as  to 
give  every  county  the  right  to  at  least  one  representative.  From  the 
first  the  pledge  to  teach  in  the  State  was  exacted  of  all  free  students. 
$5  per  month  heing  charged  all  others.  From  thetfirst  also  the  idea 
of  practical  training  was  enforced  by  the  establishment  of  a  training 
school  in  October,  1862,  but  three  months  after  the  opening  of  the 
school  in  July  of  the  same  year.  In  the  highest  division,  students  were 
required  to  conduct  classes  in  the  presence  of  an  examining  committee. 
The  first  examining  committee  was  made  up  of  such  educational  notables 
as  S.  I.  C.  Sweezey,  John  Swett  and  George  Tait.  Later,  June  14,  1871, 
the  school  was  removed  to  San  Jose.  "The  second  period  of  growth 
and  expansion  commenced  with  the  principalship  of  Charles  H.  Allen." 
who  gathered  about  him  a  strong  corps  of  teachers,  men  and  women  of 
fine  personality  and  thorough  sympathy  with  normal  school  work. 
Among  those  worthy  of  special  mention  here  were:  Mary  J.  Titus. 
Cornelia  Walker,  Lucy  M.  Washburn,  J.  H.  Braly,  Helen  S.  Wright.  Ira 
More,  Mary  Wilson,  Mary  E1.  B.  Norton,  Lizzie  P.  Sargent.  C.  YV.  Childs, 
George  K.  Kleeberger,  A.  H.  Randall,  and  "the  magnetic  Henry  B. 
Norton.''  The  course,  in  opening  at  San  Francisco,  was  of  one  year.  In 
1870  it  was  changed  to  two  years. 

A  new  building  soon  made  possible  larger  numbers  of  student?  and 
the  abolishment  of  competitive  examinations  for  entrance  by  County 
Boards.  In  1874-75  there  were  three  hundred  students.  The  training 
school  was  made  a  tuition  school  and  soon  became  self-sustaining.  In 
1870-77  the  course  was  extended  to  three  years,  though  after  the  com- 
pletion of  two  year  students  were  still  granted  an  elementary 
diploma,  in  force  a  second  grade  certificate.  In  1880  this  diploma 
was  discontinued.  In  1896  the  course  for  all  State  normal  schools  was 
lengthened  to  e  ur  years. 

On  February  10,  1880,  the  San  Jose  building  was  destroyed  by  fire, 
a  part  of  the  library  and  furniture  only  being  saved.  A  new  building 
was  at  once  erected  at  a  cost  of  $149,000,  and  in  1891-92  the  State 
supplied  a  special  training  school  building  at  a  cost  of  $47,500. 

This  school  first  introduced  manual  training  into  its  course.  It  was 
at  first  elective;  later  it  became  a  required  subject  and  so  remained 
down  to  1902,  when  it  became  elective  again.  In  1888  the  school  year 
was  divided  into  three  terms  and  the  three  normal  schools  of  the  State 


(the  schools  at  Los  Angeles  and  Chico  having  been  established)  were 
placed  under  a  uniform  curriculum;  and  some  element  of  uniformity 
lias  remained  in  the  system  down  to  the  present  time.  In  1894  this 
school,  with  the  two  others,  returned  to  the  two  semester  plan  of  dividing 
the  year.  At  one  time  the  attempt  was  made  to  institute  a  one  year's 
postgraduate  course,  but  it  failed  of  development  owing  to  the  fact  that 
no  effective  credential  accompanied  its  completion.  The  idea,  however, 
may  be  regarded  as  the  precursor  of  the  four-year  course  which  came 
for  all  the  schools  in  1896. 

This  school,  the  pioneer  in  State  normal  school  development  on  this 
(/oast,  lias  been  under  the  direction  of 'the  following  principals:  Ahira 
Holmes,  George  W.  Minns,  George  Tait  William  T.  Lucky,  H.  P.  Carl- 
ton,  Charles  11.  Allen,  C.  W.  Childs,  A.  H.  Eandall,  James  McNaughton, 
and  Morris  Elmer  Daik\y,  the  present  incumbent. 

Under  President  Dailey  the  school  has  taken  certain  decisive  steps 
(which  we  shall  discuss  later  in  a  general  way),  viz.:  (1)  In  the  face 
of  considerable  local  adverse  criticism,  the  school  not  only  advanced  in 
1901  to  a  high  school  basis,  that  is,  admitted  only  those  who  have  com- 
pleted an  accredited  high  school  course  or  its  equivalent,  but  it  has  also 
demonstrated  its  ability  to  maintain  its  work  on  such  a  basis.  This  year 
not  less  than  four  hundred  students  will  have  been  enrolled  who  are 
graduates  of  high  schools  or  have  equivalent  training.  (2)  It  has 
instituted  with  marked  success  a  summer  vacation  term  for  both  teachers 
of  experience  and  students;  the  attendance  at  its  first  summer  term  was 
17.").  (3)  Finally  the  entire  faculty  has  been  brought  to  a  more  or  less 
direct  supervision  of  the  training  school,  so  that  this  work  expresses 
the  training  ideas  of  the  entire  body,  and  the  amount  of  practice  teach- 
ing has  been  increased  from  one-half  to  one  year. 

In  1899-90  the  total  attendance  for  the  year  had  reached  768,  and  31 
teachers  were  employed.  Since  that  time  there  has  been  a  gradual  falling 
of!',  owing  to  the  exclusive  high  school  basis,  the  present  course  covering 
but  two  years. 

Los  Much   that   has  been   said,   historically,   of  the   State  normal 

Angeles  school  at  San  Jose  is  also  true  of  the  four  other  normal 
schools  of  the  State.  This  holds  especially  for  that  at  Los  Angeles 
which  ranks  second  in  order  of  institution. 

For  some  years  the  question  of  an  additional  normal  school  had 
been  agitated  before  final  provision  was  made  by  the  Legislature  in 
issl.  Fifty  thousand  dollars  were  appropriated  for  construction  and 
furnishings,  and  the  school  was  at  once  located  upon  a  hill  commanding 
a  beautiful  view  of  the  city.  The  building  was  completed  in  the  summer 
of  1882,  and  the  school  was  organized  on  August  29th  of  that  year 


under  the  principalship  of  Charles  H.  Allen,  who  was  also  head  of  the 
x  San  Jose  school,  the  Los  Angeles  school  being  at  first  regarded  as  a 
brand).  There  we're  three  members  in  the  first  faculty:  C.  J.  Flatt,  Miss 
Emma  L.  H'awks,  and  J.  AY.  1'edwav.  As  vice-principal.  Mr.  Flat! 
bad  immediate  charge  of  administration  the  first  year.  The  school 
opened  with  sixty-one  normal  pupils.  A  training  school  was  organi/ed 
from  the  first  and  numbered  126  pupils  before  the  end  of  the  first  term. 

The  second  year  opened  with  Ira  More  as  principal.  Mr.  More  was 
a  man  of  decisive  character  and  high  aims  in  life.  JL's  advent  in  the 
State  Normal  School  at  Los  Angeles  was  especially  fortunate  as  lie  had 
been  connected  with  normal  school  work  for  many  years  in  Massachusetts, 
Illinois,  Minnesota  and  California.  In  the  years  immediately  following 
there  was  a  decided  increase  in  the  number  and  strength  of  the  faculty 
and  in  the  size  of  the  student  body. 

In  1890  a  new  feature  in  normal  school  work  in  this  State,  if  not  in 
the  country,  was  introduced  by  the  erection  and  furnishing  of  a  gymna- 
sium. From  this  time  physical  culture  became  a  peculiarly  strong 
feature  of  this  school. 

In  1893  Edward  T.  Pierce  was  chosen  to  succeed  Ira  More  as  prin- 
cipal, the  latter  having  voluntarily  retired.  Mr.  Pierce  came  to  his  work 
with  four  years'  service  in  the  normal  field,  .as  organizer  and  principal 
of  the  State  formal  School  at  Chico,  and  several  years7  experience  as  a 
practical  school  man.  Among  the  closing  official  -efforts  of  Mr.  More 
as  principal  had  been  the  appeal  to  the  Legislature  for  additional  build- 
ing. Seventy-five  thousand  dollars  had  been  appropriated  for  this  pur- 
pose and  the  labor  of  directing  the  expenditure  fell,  upon  Mr.  Pierce. 
A  year  later  the  school  moved  into  its  new  additional  quarters.  Good 
\science  laboratories  and  manual  training  equipment  were  among  the 
new  features.  Still  more  recently  (1901-3)  further  appropriations  have 
rendered  possible  larger  and  superior  quarters  for  the  training  school. 
for  manual  training  and  domestic  science  and  the  beautifying  and  rela- 
tively elaborate  furnishings  of  both  buildings  and  grounds,  until  the 
school  presents,  interiorly,  the  most  commodious,  attractive  and  tasteful 
quarters  of  any  normal  school  in  the  State. 

In  1894-5  the  development  of  this  school  was  marked  by  Jie  estab- 
lishment of  a  department  of  pedagogy  and  psychology,  so  organized 
as  to  be  one  with  the  supervision  and  conduct  of  the  training  school. 
The  first  incumbent  in  this  coordinative  position  was  F.  ?>.  Dresslar. 
who  had  just  received  his  doctor's  degree  at  Clark  University.  The 
second  was  Charles  C.  Van  Liew,  who  was  called  from  the  State  Normal 
University,  at  Xortnal,  Illinois.  The  former  entered  the  Department 
of  Education  at  the  University  of  California  after  three  years'  service; 


the  latter  became  president  of  the  State  Normal  School  at  Chico  after 
two  years7  service. 

The  State  Xormal  School  at  Los  Angeles  was  the  first  to  institute 
liberally  the  State  training  of  kindergarteners.  The  Department  of 
Kindergarten  Training  was  inaugurated  in  1897  under  the  direction  of 
Miss  Florence  Lawson  of  the  Chicago  Kindergarten  College.  Its 
graduates  have  gone  chiefly  into  the  public  school  kindergarten  work 
of  the  State. 

Men  and  women  of  strength  and  high  training  have  been  constantly 
sought  for  leadership  in  the  different  departments  of  the  school.  Among 
tlie  many  who  might  he  mentioned  are  B.  M.  Davis,  in  biological  science, 
Isabel  Pierce.  Emma  Breck,  Agnes  Crary  and  Josephine  Seamans  in 
Knglish;  Harriet  Dunn  and  Agnes  Eliot  in  history;  Ada  Laughlin  in 
art;  James  T.  Chamberlain  in  geography;  Sarah  J.  Jacobs,  physical 
culture;,  and  Charles  Button  and  Mellville  Dozier  in  mathematics. 
These  are  but  a  few  of  a  faculty  which  has  always  possessed  an  unusual 
ji umber  of  strong  and  inspiring  teachers. 

The  training  school  of  this  institution  is  nominally  one  of  the  city 
schools  of  Los  Angeles,  its  teachers  being  paid  the  regular  city  salaries. 
I  n  addition  to  this  they  also  receive  a  salary  from  the  State.  This  arrange- 
ment has,  especial  I  v  under  the  principalship  of  Mrs.  Frances  Byram, 
proved  a  very  successful  one  for  many  years.  A  sufficient  amount  of  inner 
freedom  has  been  attainable,  despite  the  nominal  connection  with  the 
larger  citv  system.  The  institution,  as  a  whole,  aims  at  close  connection 
with  its  training  school  work,  either  through  occasional  supervision 
<>r  regular  conferences. 

From  a  school  of  three  teachers  and  sixty-one  students  at  the  opening 
in  .1882,  it  has  become  one  of  twenty-six  teachers  and  four  hundred  and 
si. \tv-t  wo  (total  enrollment)  students  in  1902.  For  some  years  past  the 
enrollment  of  new  students  has  been  made  up  preponderantly  of  high 
school  graduates. 

In  brief,  the  policy  of  the  present  administration  has  been  to  main- 
tain thoroughly  trained  and  eiTective  leadership  in  each  department,  to 
incorporate  into  the  life  of  the  school  as  a  whole  all  those  phases  of 
modern  education  which  unquestionably  reflect  the  spirit  of  the  times, 
to  maintain  high  standards  of  entra'nce,  scholarship  and  graduation. 
_<  ,  Tlie  State  Normal  School  at  Chico  was  established  by  act  of 

Legislature  in  1887.  Before  the  location  was  decided  upon, 
a  committee  was  sent  north  to  visit  the  various  places  competing  for  the 
school.  Marvsville.  Red  1)1  u IT  and  Chico  were  regarded  as  the  three 
most  desirable  spots  for  its  location.  Chico  was  most  centrally  located 
for  the  northern  section  of  the  State,  and  seemed  to  possess  the  most 


8 

attractive  and  healthful  surroundings.  These  advantages,  combined 
with  the  gifts  of  its  citizens,  secured  the  location  of  the  school  at  Chieo. 

General  John  Bid  well,  one  of  California's  ablest  and  most  sterling 
pioneers,  gave  the  State  eight  acres  of  his  best  land  immediately  adjoin- 
ing the  city  of  Chico  for  the  site,  and  the  citi/ens  gave  $10,000  to  be 
applied  to  the  building  fund.  * 

The  first  Board  of  Trustees  was  composed  of  Governor  R.  W.  Water- 
man, Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  Ira  G.  Hoitt,  John  Bidwell, 
F.  C.  Lusk  (president),  T.  P.  Hendricks,  A.  H.  Qtew,  and  L.  II. 
Mclntosh.  Two  of  these  men  have  been  identified  with  almost  the  entire 
history  of  the  school.  The  one  is  John  Bidwell,  whose  interested  support 
of  the  school,  combined  with  that  of  his  wife,  Annie  K.,  endured  long- 
after  he  retired  from  the  Board.  F.  C.  Lusk  has  served  on  the  Board 
nearly  thirteen  years,  and  is  at  present  chairman,  and  has  brought  to 
its  work  stability  anl  legal  sagacity. 

Although  the  building  had  not  been  .completed,  it  was  sufficiently 
advanced  by  September,  1889,  to  permit  the  opening  of  the  school.  The. 
Board  had  already  selected  as  principal  E.  T.  Pierce,  at  that  time  super- 
intendent of  schools  at  Pasadena,  California.  Other  members  of  the 
first  faculty  were  M.  L.  Seymour,  natural  science;  Carlton  M.  Bitter, 
mathematics;  Emily  Rice,  preceptress  and  instructor  in  English;  and 
E.  A.  Garlichs,  music.  Eighty  students  enrolled  at  the  opening  of  the 
school.  The  course  required  at  that  time  but  three  years.  Two  classes 
were  organized,  which  began  the  work,  respectively,  of  the  junior  and 
middle  years.  Before  the  end  of  the  first  year  110  students  had  been 
enrolled. 

The  second  year  the  faculty  was  increased  to  nine  members  and 
courses  in  drawing,  physical  geography  and  history  were  added.  A 
training  school  was  also  established  and  was  for  a  time  under  the  super- 
vision of  Washington  Wilson.  In  1889  the  Legislature  appropriated 
$2.5,000  to  finish  the  building  (making  a  total,  both  by  subscription  and 
appropriation,  of  $130,000  for  original  construction),  and  a  liberal  sum 
was  allowed  for  the  equipment  of  a  library,  science  department  and 
musuem. 

The  institution  has  grown  steadily  in  size  and  efficiency  and  has  had 
a  marked  effect  upon  the  educational  tone  of  Northern  California,  where 
its  graduates  are  chiefly  found  in  service.  In  1898  was  established  its 
department  for  the  training  of  kindergarteners,  under  the  management 
of  Mrs.  (Mara  M.  McQuade. 

At  present  the  institution  has  in  prospect  an  addition  to  its  building 
which  will  provide  a  modern  gymnasium,  new  and  superior  laboratories 
in  physical  science,  and  additional  room  in  its  assembly  hall. 


9 

Owing  to  tlio  fact  that  the  State  Xormal  School  at  Cliico  is  situated 
in  a  section  of  the  State  not  strongly  nor  liberally  supplied  with  high 
schools,  it  lias  been  forced  to  offer  a  curriculum  particularly  efficient 
on  the  academic  side.  At  present  its  work  is  organized  in  eight  depart- 
ments, as  follows: 

1.  Psychology,  pedagogy  and  history  and  philosophy  of  education, 
including  kindergarten.  2.  English,  including  literature.  3.  Mathe- 
matics. 4.  Physical  science.  5.  Biological  science.  G.  History  and 
political  science.  7.  Art  and  handicraft.  8.  Music. 

During  the  fourteen  years  of  its  activity  the  size  of  the  faculty  has 
increased  from  live  to  twenty-one,  and  the  number  of  students  (total 
enrollment)  from  110  to  377,  the  enrollment  for  1899-1900.  The  insti- 
tution has  had  four  presidents:  Edward  T.  Pierce,  four  years;  Robert 
F.  Pennell,  four  years;  Carlton  M.  Bitter,  two  years;  Charles  C.  Van 
Liew.  ]> resent  incumbent,  five  years. 

The  training  school  of  this  institution  has  always  been  a  private 
tuition  school.  Its  present  enrollment  ranges  from  250  to  ,275.  It  is, 
in  fact,  under  the  direction  of  the  faculty,  which  prescribes  the  course 
of  study  and  the  methods  of  instruction,  and  to  some  extent,  supervises 
tin-  practice  teaching.  The  immediate  execution  of  the  work  is  in  the 
hands  of  a  supervisor  of  training  and  four  assistant  training  teachers. 
San  r|1'H'  A(<t  emit  ing  the  State  Normal  School  at  San  Diego  and 
Diego  appropriating  $50,000  for  building  and  maintenance  was  ap- 
proved March  1:5.  1897.  The  first  Board  of  Trustees,  W.  B.  Guy,  chair- 
man, accepted  the  oll'er  of  the  College  Hill  Land  Association,  of  San 
Diego,  of  sixteen  and  one-half  acres  on  what  were  known  as  University 
Heights,  overlooking  the  Bay  of  San  Diego.  The  plans  finally  adopted 
by  this  Board  for  the  building,  a  part  of  which  was  erected  at  once  (the 
rest  being  at  present  in  process  of  completion)  were  such  as  will  render 
this  institution  externally  the  most  artistic  and  attractive  in  the  State. 
"The  predominant  principle  in  the  architecture  is  Corinthian  Greek, 
modified  by  the  Oriental  dome,"  and  the  building  as  a  whole  with  its 
large  central  portion  and  east  and  west  wings,  is  in  imitation  of  the 
Art  Building  of  the  World's  Fair,  Chicago.  The  building,  since  it  is 
most  modern,  is  also  the  best  in  point  of  sanitation. 

The  first  president  of  the  school  and  the  present  incumbent  is  Samuel 
T.  Black,  who  at  the  time  of  his  selection,  was  State  Superintendent  of 
Public  Instruction  and  a  school  man  of  wide  practical  experience.  His 
faculty  was  from  the  start  a  strong  one,  composed  almost  entirely  of 
Vniversitv  graduates  who  were  also  people  of  experience,  nine  in  number. 
The  school  opened  with  an  enrollment  of  ninety-one  students,  which 
became  a  total  enrollment  of  135  before  the  end  of  the  year. 


10 

Tn  many  respects  the  school  is  one  of  the  most  fortunate  in  the  State 
in  point  ol  location.  Though  San  Diego  is  in  the  extreme  southern 
bonier  of  ihe  State,  its  climate  is  the  most  equable,  its  people  average 
high  in  culture,  and  its  proximity  to  the  ocean  and  the  beautiful  I>av 
of  San  Diego  adds  to  its  charm  and  beauty.  One  of  the  athletic  feature.- 
of  the  school  for  both  men  and  women  is  boating  in  an  eight-oared  barge 
on  the  hay. 

The  training  school,  consisting  of  the  nine  grades  of  the  California 
elementary  school  system,  has  enrolled  on  the  average  a  little  over  one 
hundred  pupils.  The  practice  teaching  in  the  school*  and  its  develop- 
ment are  significant,  as  they  are  indicative  of  the  general  trend  in  Ihe 
State  and  of  a  general  awakening  to  the  prime  significance  of  training 
school  work.  The  renaissance  of  this  phase  of  normal  school  work  lias 
1  been  felt  since  the  establishment  of  this  school,  and  was,  therefore,  earlv 
reflected  in  its  growth.  During  its  first  two  years  of  development,  the 
school  had  no  other  means  of  practice  for  its  candidates  for  gradual  ion 
other  than  could  be  furnished  by  the  distant  eitv  schools.  Its  training 
school  was  created  in  1900-01.  The  time  originally  required  in  this 
work  was  250  hours;  this  has  been  increased  to  300  hours  for  seniors, 
plus  100  hours  preliminary  teaching  in  the  second  or  third  years. 
San  The  State  Normal  School  at  San  Francisco  was  established 

Francisco  by  Act  of  Legislature,  March  22,  1899.  At  the  time  of 
the  organization  of  this  school  there  seemed  to  be  a  large  supplv  of 
teachers  in  the  State.  This  fact,  together  with  the  small  appropriation 
of  $10.1)00  per  year  for  support,  helped  to  determine  the  policy  of  the 
new  school.  The  Board  chose  Dr.  Frederic  Burk  for  its  president.  Mr. 
Burk  had  received  his  broad  training  at  the  University  of  California 
and  at  Leland  Stanford  Jr.  University,  in  newspaper  service  in  San 
Francisco,  in  public  'School  work  in  the  Stale,  especially  as  superintend- 
ent at  Santa  Eosa  and  Santa  Barbara,  and  had,  but  one  year  previous  to 
his  election  to  his  present  position,  achieved  the  degree  of  Doctor  of 
Philosophy  after  two  years*  work  at  Clark  Vniversitv.  Mr.  Burk  at 
once  saw  in  the  above  conditions  opportunity  to  emphasize  the  training 
of  teachers  on  higher  standards  of  admission  and  Jo  superior  efficiency 
A  resolution  of  the  Joint  Board  of  California  Normal  Schools,  July, 
1899,  immediately  after  the  organization  of  the  San  Francisco  Board. 
made  it  possible  for  this  school  to  organize  upon  a  purely  high  school 
basis,  and  to  receive  only  graduates  of  accredited  high  schools.  The 
requirements  of  admission,  therefore,  were  from  the  start  the  same  as 
the  requirements  for  admission  to  ihe  State  rniversity.  "'Thus  the 
San  Francisco  Xormal  School  stands  for  a  sharp  distinction  between 
general  or  academic  scholarship  and  the  technical  or  professional  train- 


11 

in«-  special  to  teaehers.  Xo  courses  whatever  arc  given  in  purely  academic 
studies,  and  the  school  centers  its  energies  exclusively  upon  the  profes- 
sional training,  in  which  term  are  included  studies  in  the  grouping  and 
adaptation  of  the  material  of  the  various  subjects  to  the  special  uses  of 
the  class  room." 

One  phase  of  the  brief  history  of  this  school  can  best  be  had  by 
directly  quoting  jt.<  President  and  Board  as  follows: 

"In  tlie  matter  of  administration  of  the  affairs  of  the  school.,  the 
appointment  of  its  faculty,  and  its  internal  management,,  the  Board  in 
June.  1!M)1.  after  two  years'  experience,  upon  motion  of  Trustee  F.  A. 
Hyde,  reduced  to  written  form  its  policy  of  management  in  resolutions 
which  were  unanimously  adopted,  as  follows: 

"RESOLUTIONS  DEFINING  POLICY. 

"\VI!KIM-:AS.  State  Xormal  Schools  are  supported  and  should  be  con- 
ducted for  the  sole  purpose  of  supplying  public  schools  with  teachers  of 
the  highest  elliciency  : 

"A\D  \VIIKKKAS,  The  Trustees  of  the  San.  Francisco  State  Xormal 
School  desire  that  the  school  shall  be  so  conducted  that  a  certificate  of 
graduation  therefrom  shall  be  esteemed  an  honorable  distinction  by  the 
holder  thereof,  as  being  a  certain  guarantee  of  thorough  training  and 
proficiency  as  a  teacher,  and  so  recognized  by  sehool  officials; 

"\0\V    TlIKKKFORi:.    !!!•    IT    H  KSOLVKI). 

"/•'//•x/ — That  it  is  the  determined  policy  of  this  Board  that  the 
faculty  shall  be  selocUd.  as  heretofore,  upon  a  basis  of  merit  alone, 
wholly  uninfluenced  by  personal  or  political  interference  or  considera- 
tion, and  the  Trustees  therefore  require  that  all  applications  for  posi- 
tions in  the  faculty  be  lirst  submitted  to  the  President  of  the  School, 
who  will  nominate  to  the  Board  those  whom  he  may  deem  most  compe- 
tent and  meritorous. 

"^('cuitd — That  the  President  shall  continue  to  maintain  the  present 
high  standard  of  admission  to  the  school,  and  his  judgment  and  deci- 
sion in  individual  cases  shall  be  final:  and  where,  after  a  fair  trial,  it 
shall  appear  to  him  that  a  student  shows  an  incapacity  to  become  a 
thoroughly  ellicient  teacher,  it  shall  be  his  duty  to  discourage  the  student 
from  further  attendance  at  the  school. 

~TJiir<! — That  the  President  shall  certify  to  the  Trustees  for  gradu- 
ation only  those  students  who  can  be  confidently  and  honestly  recom- 
iin  nded  to  school  trustees,  superintendents,  and  Hoards  of  Education, 
as  teachers  of  undoubted  capability. 

"Under  these  conditions,  the  internal  management  of  the  school  was 


12 

intrusted  to  the  faculty  by  the  Trustees.  A  new  school,  free  from  ham- 
pering traditions  and  conditions,  whose  Trustees  are  resolved  to  main- 
tain it  strictly  upon  an  educational  basis  possesses  by  birthright  certain 
advantages." 

The  work  of  the  school  is  built  about  the  idea  that  efficiency  in 
teaching  involves  three  essentials:  (1)  A  teaching  personality.  (2) 
(General  culture  and  scholarship.  (3)  Ability  in  the  teaching  arts.  As 
already  indicated  this  school  looks  to  other  general  culture  schools,  i.  e., 
elementary  and  high  schools,  for  the  accomplishment  (*f  the  work  indi- 
cated under  2.  Teaching  personality,  a  somewhat  which  cannot  be 
taught,  is  secured  in  this  school,  as  a  matter  of  prime  duty,  by  riyid 
sclrr/ioii.  "Twenty  per  cent,  of  the  students  who  enter  the  normal  school 
later  drop  out  by  reason  of  these  judgments  of  unsuitable  personality.^ 
Vet  this  consummation  has  been  brought  about  without  formal  dismissal 
of  any  student,  because  such  a  measure  has  not  yet  proved  necessary. 

For  the  rest  the  San  Francisco  Normal  School  limits  itself  to 
thorough  preparation  in  the  details  of  class  teaching.  This  work  is 
undertaken  with  the  ideas  that  skill  in  teaching  is  a  matter  of  habit 
and  the  product  of  practice,  that  .time  is  needful  to  this  end,  that  the 
entire  course  of  two  years  should  be  this  time,  that  theory  as  to  methods 
and  aims  is  quite  distinct  from  habit  and  practice  and  that  the  two  are 
not  interchangeable.  Accordingly  the .  force  of  the  entire  school  is 
thrown  on  the  work  in  the  training  school,  which  is  organized  under  a 
principal  and  "a  corps  of  supervisors  who  constitute  the  body  of  the 
faculty.  The  work  is  rendered  purposeful  and  increasingly  effective  by 
a  conference  system.  Technical  and  theoretical  knowledge  along  the 
lines  of  psychology,  pedagogy,  and  history  of  education  is  reduced  to 
from  three  to  five  hours  per  week  for  two  years,  and  is  made  to  bear  as 
directly  as  possible  upon  practical  school  problems.  The  special  method 
work  is  carried  on  in  the  system  of  supervisor  conferences  already 
alluded  to. 

The  school  is  located  at  present  in  an  old  and  condemned  building, 
belonging  to  San  Francisco's  school  buildings,  on  Powell  Street,  near 
(May.  Xo  legislative  appropriation  has  as  yet  provided  for  permanent 
quarters.  This  school  is,  therefore,  in  comparison  with  the  others,  very 
poorly  housed  and  furnished.  On  the  other  hand  the  recognition  of  its 
work  has  been  worthy  and  substantial.  Not  the  least  satisfactory  of  its 
results  is  the  series  of  Bulletins  (at  present  six)  which  have  been  pre- 
pared by  dilTerent  members  of  the  faculty,  and  arc  published  and  sold 
lal  price  to  cover  cost  and  mailing.  Those  set  forth  the  re- 
better  still,  experiences  of  the  school  in  special  method 


13 

Such  is,  in  brief,  the  history  of  the  individual  schools.  There  remains 
to  the  present  task  some  discussion  of  the  schools  collectively  as  regards 
(a)  the  work  accomplished,  (b)  phases  of  organization  and  adminis- 
tration under  the  present  laws,  including  the  present  course  of  study, 
(c)  pending  issues  and  problems. 

THE    WORK    DONE. 

Taken  together  the  work  of  the  five  State  Normal  Schools  of  Cali- 
fornia represents  a  sum  total,  at  present  writing  (February  1,  1904),  of 
ninety-two  and  one-half  years  devoted  by  the  State  to  the  work  of  train- 
ing its  teachers.  In  the  forty-two  and  a  half  years  since  the  opening  of 
the  work  of  the  San  Jose  institution  there  have  been  graduated:  San 
Jose,  3271;  Los  Angeles,  1506;  Chieo.  :>: ;;.'>;  San  Diego,  127;  San  Fran- 
cisco, 95;  total.  5532. 

This  total  has  of  course  been  decreased  at  the  usual  rate  by  death, 
marriage  or  change  of  profession.  Yet  a  very  large  percent  of  the 
number  still  remains  in  service.  They  represent  unquestionably  a  sterl- 
ing body  of  teachers,  and  constitute,  together  with  the  teachers  trained 
at  the  rniversities.  a  highly  effective  educational  force  produced  by  the 
State  itself. 

The  following  statistics  will  perhaps  give  some  further  idea  of  the 
work  being  accomplished  from  the  viewpoint  of  attendance  and  expendi- 
ture. They  are  based  on  the  report  of  the  Superintendent  of  Public 
Instruction  for  1902,  the  latest  year  for  which  full  returns  are  available. 
In  1902  these  five  schools  were  employing  107  teachers.  They  enrolled 
a  total  for  that  year  of  1783  students,  about  200  less  than  the  preceding 
year,  owing,  chiefly,  to  the  establishment  of  higher  entrance  requirements 
in  two  of  them.  The  average  daily  attendance  in  1902  was  1471.  Their 
training  schools  enrolled  a  total  for  the  year  of  1406  children  and  main- 
tained an  average  daily  attendance  of  960.  The  total  expenditures  for 
the  maintenance  of  these  schools  in  1902  was  $209,140.46,  distributed 
as  follows:  San  Jose.  $55,999.10;  Los  Angeles,  $75,696.73;  Chico. 
$:'>2,657.8S;  San  Diego,  $29,201.02;  San  Francisco,  $17,585.93.  Tin- 
total  appropriations  for  these  schools  for  1903-4  and  1904-5  wen- 
$197,400,  including  $106,500  for  buildings  and  special  improvements. 
The  total  valuation  of  normal  school  property  for  1902  was  $756,102.07. 
The  libraries  of  these  schools  contained  about  33,616  volumes. 

It  should  not  be  understood,  however,  that  the  establishment,  develop- 
ment and  maintenance  of  these  five  normal  schools  constitute  Cali- 
fornia's only  provision  for  her  supply  of  trained  teachers.  As  will  be 
shown  hereafter,  her  laws  also  provide  for  the  accrediting  by  the  State 
Board  of  Education  of  the  normal  schools  of  other  States  which  arc  of 


14 

equal  rank.  This  opens  California  to  (rained  Eastern  teachers  without 
examination.  By  this  means  the  Stale  has  a^ain  added  to  the  number 
of  trained  teachers  now  in  service. 

This  emphasis  which  it  has  heen  the  policy  of  the  State  to  place  on  a 
t  mined  teaching  service  lias  wrought  a  rapid  revolution  in  educational 
<  Hicioney  in  the  State.  Counties  which  once  supplied  their  teachers 
almost  wholly  by  recruiting  through  examination  from  their  own  gram- 
mar school  graduates  are  now  seek!  no-  trained  teachers  from  ahroad  and 
are  sending  their  quotas  of  representatives  to  the  normal  schools.  The 
old  frontier  system  of  educational  breeding- in  had  manv  baneful  ell'ecls. 
was  liard  to  hreak.  and  in  some  localities  is  not  yet  wholly  hroken.  Hut 
it  would  he  difficult  to  overestimate  the  influence  California's  normal 
schools  have*  had  in  liberalizing  the  educational  ideas  of  the  State,  es- 
pecially in  frontier  mountain  districts,  and  in  paving  the  way  for  t In- 
still greater  I'liiversity  liberalization.  In  1!MU  it  was  possihle  for  the 
State  Legislature  to  pass  a  law  still  further  restricting  certification  bv 
examination,  ruder  this  law  all  ^rantin^  of  certificates  except  of  hi^li. 
i.  e..  first  or  grammar  <»Tade,  has  heen  abolished  and  examinations  have 
been  reduced  in  numher  to  one  a  year.  But  few  applicants  have  applitd 
for  examinations  in  any  county,  and  in  some  counties  not  one  has 
appeared  at  the  appointed  time.  The  law  mav  justly  he  regarded  as  a 
decisive  concession  to  the  average  superiority  of  the  trained  over  the  un- 
trained teachers,  other  things  bein^  equal. 

In  conclusion,  the  idea  and  practice  of  a  Inihu'if  teaching  service 
were  early  injected  into  the  educational  system  of  California.  Their 
influence  has  continued  in  force  and  development  until  it  can  he  fairly 
claimed  to  he  the  dominant  element  in  shaping  public  school  practice 
in  the  State.  Whenever  a  youn»-  State  provides  as  liberally  as  Cali- 
fornia has  done  for  the  training  of  its  own  elementary  teachers,  sup- 
ported its  own  work  by  ^ivin^  such  teachers  the  prefernece  under  its 
laws  and  made  its  Held  more  readily  accessible  to  trained  teachers  from 
other  States  than  to  others,  it  is  ^oin^  to  do  just  what  California  has 
done,  advance  its  educational  interests  to  keep  pace  with  the  best  in  the 
country  at  larize. 

I-'KA'ITKKS  OF  OI{<}  AN  I/ATIOX    AND   ADMINISTRATION. 

As  has  been  already  noted  the  organization  of  the  California  normal 
schools  presents  two  distinct  idea.-,  local  autonomy  for  each  school  and 
a  limited  joint  administration. 

The  <rovernin<:  hoard  of  each  school  is  composed  of  the  Governor  of 
the  State,  the  State  Superintendent  of  Public-  Instruction,  and  five  mem- 
bers, appointed  by  the  Governor  and  confirmed  by  the  State  Senate. 


15 

Those  five  appointee-  hold  office  for  four  vears.  Their  terms  overlap  in 
that  not  more  than  two  members  retire  or  receive  appointment  each 
year.  The  secretary  of  the  Hoard  has  usually  been  the  president  of  the 
school,  though  sinv  member  of  the  Board  or  anyone  not  a  member  of  the 
Board  may  hold  this  otlico. 

It  lies  within  the  power  of  the  local  Board  to  prescribe  rules  For  the 
government  of  the  school,  for  the  reports  of  its  ollieers  and  teachers,  and 
for  the  visiting  of  other  institutions;  to  provide  for  the  purchase  of 
necissarv  supplies  and  to  control  all  expenditures  in  behalf  of  the  school  ; 
to  grant  diplomas  to  students  completing  the  course  upon  recommenda- 
tion of  the  faculty;  to  revoke  diplomas  for  cause  (drunkenness  im- 
morality, dishonesty)  and  to  elect  a  president  of  the  school.  (.Formerly 
the  latter  was  elected  by  the  Joint  Board.)  The  faculty  is  elected  by  the 
Board  upon  nomination  by  the  President,  in  whose  hands  solely  lie 
the  power  and  right  of  selection.  After  two  years'  honorable  service 
members  of  the  faculty  may  be  elected  for  four  years. 

Tlie  Board  is  required  to  report  its  transactions  to  the  (Governor  of 
the  State  annually,  including  the  annual  report  of  the  president  of  the 
school;  to  keep  open  records  of  all  transactions;  to  meet  regularly  at 
least  twice  a  year.  Jn  attending  meetings  members  are  allowed  mileage 
and  hotel  expenses. 

Thnv  features  commend  themselves  particularly  in  the  above  cita- 
tions. First,  the  presence  of  the  (Governor  and  State  Superintendent  of 
Public  Instruction  on  every  local  Board  insures  some  cognizance  on  the 
part  of  the  central  authorities  of  the  State  of  the  affairs  and  conduct 
of  each  institution.  Second,  it  is  possible  for  the  local-  Boards,  made 
up  as  they  are  of  men  of  business  and  alTairs.  to  enter  into  the  life, 
interest  and  needs  of  their  several  widely  separated  institutions  far  more 
intimate! v  and  intelligently  than  could  a  single  Board  of  Regents  in  a 
Slate  of  so  vast  territo/ial  extent.  Experience  is  showing  that  intelligent 
direction  of  such  institutions  can  be  secured  wherever  the  governing 
board  is  given  opportunity  to  study  at  !ir>t  hand  the  school  it  seeks  to 
administer.  It  has  been  the  policy  of  (Jovernor  Pardee  to  secure  on  the 
part  of  these  Boards  some  more  intimate  touch  with  the  real  issues 
which  confront  the  schools  which  thev  operate.  The  local  board  feature. 
is  peculiarly  adaptable  to  California  which  still  often  presents  in  its 
dilTercnt  sections  widely  varying  cultural,  as  well  as  industrial  condi- 
tions and  ideals. 

Vniformity  in  the  system  is  secured  through  the  Joint  Board.  This 
Board  is  made  up  of  the  ({overnor  and  Superintendent  of  Public  In- 
struction of  the  State,  the  presidents  of  the  normal  schools,  the  chair- 
men of  each  local  Board  and  two  other  members,  selected  bv  the  local 


16 

Boards  to  represent  them.  It  meets  annually  at  ono  of  tho  normal 
schools,  the  Governor  being  ex  olfieio  eliainnan. 

rriiis  Hoard  must  prescribe  and  enforce  a  uniform  series  of  text- 
books, a  uniform  course  of  study,  a  time  and  standard  for  graduation,  a 
uniform  standard  of  admission  and  of  transfer  of  pupils.  It  may  sit  as 
a  hoard  of  arhit  rat  inn  in  the  adjusment  of  matters  pertaining  to  any 
State  normal  school,  pass  regulations  affecting  the  wellibeing  of  all  such 
schools.  They  receive  mileage  while  in  attendance  at  meetings.  Tin; 
State  Superintendent  is  secretary  of  the  Joint  Board. 

It  will  appear  at  once  that  it  is  the  function  of  thes  Hoard  to  offer 
the  needful  balance  to  the  various  local  Boards.  Whatever  the  needs 
and  interests  of  the  schools,  locally,  or  of  the  sections,  may  he,  there  are 
still  certain  fundamental  ideas  which  must  characterize  the  system  as 
a  whole.  Were  it  not  so,  no  definite  or  uniform  policy  relative  to  the 
training  of  teachers  or  the  standards  of  its  teaching  force  could  he  pur- 
sued by  the  State  at  large.  The  problem  of  this  Joint  Board,  therefore. 
is  so  to  regulate  the  system  as  to  secure  uniformity  of  aim  and  result 
without  unwisely  infringing  upon  the  needful  local  autonomy  of  each 
school.  That  this  has  been  successfully  accomplished  will  appear  below 
in  the  statement  of  the  wav  each  school  shapes  its  own  work.  In  no 
regard  has  the  freedom  been  left  to  the  individual  schools  more  fittingly 
than  in  preserving  to  each  its  educational  touch  with  its  sections  of  the 
State.  The  life  and  influence  of  such  a  school  are  vitally  dependent  upon 
the  character  of  the  schools  from  which  it  draws  its  students.  The 
preservation  of  any  vital  contact  already  attained  between  the  other 
schools  of  the  State  and  its  normals,  has,  therefore,  been  a  wise  policy. 

One  difficulty  with  the  Joint  Board  has  been  its  inability  at  time- 
to  find  serious  occupation,  when  once  its  general  policy  was  established. 
It  is  not  altogether  advisable  to  maintain  a  large  Board  which  has  no 
more  vital  purpose  in  convening  than  the  formal  establishment  of  a  few 
regulations,  the  adoption  of  a-  few  texts,  and  the  enjoyment  of  a  gratui- 
tous trip.  The  present  Governor  of  the  State,  George  ('.  Pan  lee.  realized 
this  difficulty.  At  the  last  meeting  in  April  he  brought  about  a  decisive 
renewal  of  the  official  conscience  of  the  Board,  secured  a  general  interest 
in  the  most  vjtal  modern  problems  of  training  teachers,  and  set  a  number 
of  committees  about  the  preparation  of  reports  upon  the  new  issue.-. 
This  movement,  kept  up,  must  react  beneficially  upon  both  the  adminis- 
tration and  instruction  of  the  schools. 

Another  difficulty  for  which  nothing  has  been  done  because  it  has  not 
vet  received  sufficient  recognition  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  personnel  of 
the  Board  may  change  greatly  from  year  to  year.  This  status  will 


or  THE 
UNIVERSITY 

OF 


§0 

0 

a 


17 

•rival  lv  impede  good  committee  work,  at  least  in  the  line  of  investigation 
and  reports. 

Xo  acts  of  the  Joint  Board  prior  to  July  12,  1899,  now  seriously 
all'ect  the  normal  school  policy  of  the  State.  We  shall,  therefore,  con- 
sider organization  only  as  it  has  been  shaped  in  the  last  five  years.  At 
that  time  the  State  normal  school  at  San  Francisco  had  just  been 
created,  and  $10,000  per  year  appropriated  for  its  support.  This 
meaner  appropriation  for  support  was  the  incident  which  set  on  foot 
the  present  movement  for  advance  in  normal  school  standards.  The 
San  Francisco  contigvnt  came  to  the  special  meeting  of  the  Joint  Board, 
July  12,  1899.  determined  to  secure  a  ruling  which  should  enable  them 
to  operate  their  school  on  a  safe  yet  high  standard.  A  compromise  was 
necessary.  It  was  effected  in  the  following  requirements  (of  sufficient 
interest  to  be  quoted  in  full)  which  became  at  once  a  basis  for  the  work 
of  all  schools  and  which  are  still  in  effect,  having  been  reaffirmed  on 
April  10,  190:i: 

1.  The  course  of  study  shall  cover  a  period  of  four  years;  provided, 
that  the  State  normal  schools  shall  accept  as  equivalent  of  the  first  and 
second  years  of  this  course,  (a)  graduation  from  any  of  the  schools  ac- 
credited   by  the  "University  of  California   on  the  same  basis  as  would 
govern  admission  to  the  University,  or  (1))  a  proficiency  shown  by  exami- 
nation to  be  the  equivalent  of  the  courses  pursued  in  these  accredited 
schools;  and.  provided  further,  that  State  normal  schools  which  may  have 
suitable  and  sufficient  accommodations  for  no  pupils,  other  than  those 
who  offer  the  equivalents  above  stated,  may  omit  the  instruction  of  the 
first  and  second  years  of  this  course  of  study  until  such  accommodations 
are  provided. 

2.  The  requirements  for  admission  shall  be: 

(a)  Those  who  furnish  satisfactory  evidence  of  having  received  a 
thorough  gram  mar  school  education. 

(b)  A  proficiency  shown  by  examination  to  be  equivalent  to  that 
represented   by   the   diploma    of   graduation    from   the   ninth   year,    or 

(c)  A  diploma  of  graduation  from  any  school  accredited  by  the 
I 'Diversity  of  California  on  the  same  basis  as  would  govern  admission 
to  the  University,  or 

(d)  A  proficiency  shown  by  examination  to  be  the  equivalent  of  the 
courses  pursued  in  accredited  schools,  or 

(e)  A  valid  teacher's  certificate  from  any  county  or  citv  and  county 
in  the  State  of  California;  provided,  that  in  the  admission  of  students 
to. any  of  the  State  normal  schools  the  classes  of  applicants  described 
by  the  clauses  lettered  "c,"  "d,"  and  "e"  shall  have  precedence  in  en- 


18 

rollment,  and  only  after  these  arc  fully  provided  with  accommodations 
shall  classes  be  organized  in  the  lirst  and  second  years  of  the  course  for 
the  classes  of  applicants  represented  by  the  clauses  "av  and  "b." 

3.  Tbe  course  of  study,  ilie  uiininnun  number  of  recitation  periods 
in  each  topic  of  study  being  stated,  shall  be  as  follows: 

1.  For  the  first  and  second  years — English,  350  periods,  including 
grammar,  composition,  word  analysis,  literature,  reading,  and  rhetoric; 
science,  400  periods,  including  biology,  physics,  geogaaphy,  chemistry, 
physiology    (geology    and   astromony    elective   in   place   of   chemistry), 
domestic    science;    mathematics,    400    periods,    including    arithmetic, 
algebra,  geometry,  and  bookkeeping;  miscellaneous,  400  periods,  includ- 
ing  drawing,   manual   training,    penmanship,   music,    physical    culture, 
history,  and  civics;  provided  that  there  shall  be  accepted  as  the  equiva- 
lent of  this  course  for  the  first  and  second  years,   (a)   graduation   from 
any  school  accredited  by  the  University  of  California,  when  diploma  is 
accompanied  by  a  recommendation  from  the  principal  of  the  school,  or 
(b)  proficiency  shown  by  examination  to  be  the  equivalent  of  the  courses 
pursued  in  these  accredited  schools. 

2.  For  the  third  and  fourth  years  of  the  course,  general  psychology, 
IfiO    periods;    general    pedagogy,    150    periods;    practice   teaching,    250 
periods;    pedagogy    of    reading.    English    and    literature,    250    periods; 
pedagogy  of  history,  80  periods;  pedagogy  of  science,  400  periods;  peda- 
gogy of  mathematics,  100  periods;  pedagogy  of  manual  training.  2  in 
periods;  pedagogy  of  music,  160  periods;  pedagogy  of  physical  training, 
IW)  periods. 

Although  the  prescribed  course  of  study,  it  will  be  observed,  creates 
two  distinct  divisions  of  work  of  two  years  each,  the  one  so-called  acade- 
mic, and  the  other  strictly  professional,  each  individual  school  is  allowed 
to  work  out  and  arrange  its  curriculum  in  its  own  way.  and  local  initia- 
tive and  originality  in  work  are  preserved.  This  is  an  advantage  for 
two  chief  reasons:  it  brings  a  greater  variety  of  experience  and 
originality  into  the  normal  school  work  of  the  State,  by  which  in  the 
end  all  profit,  and  it  permits  each  school  to  adapt  itself  freely  to  the 
prevailing  needs  of  its  own  locality  and  students. 

How  variously  these  courses  of  study  work  out  can  be  seen  by  a 
comparison  of  the  course  of  study  issued  by  each  school  for  the  year 
1JMK5-4.  Such  a  comparison  will  show  that  Chico  and  San  Diego  still 
deem  it  necessary  and  expedient  to  offer  graduates  of  the  ninth  grade 
four-year  courses,  covering  a  relatively  large1  amount  of  academic  work 
and  at  the  same  time  maintaining  a  high  grade  of  professional  work. 


19 

Both  of  these  schools  also  offer  the  two-year  course  of  chiefly  profes- 
sional work  for  graduates  of  high  schools.  Their  grounds,  in  hrief,  for 
their  present  position,  are  the  relatively  few  strong  high  schools  which 
can  at  present  feed  them,  and  the  beneficent  touch  which  they  are 
maintaining  under  the  present  plan  with  rural  and  isolated  communi- 
ties. Yet  they  have  felt  and  responded  to  the  demand  of  the  past  five 
years  for  higher  standards.  San  Francisco  and  San  Jose,  it  will  appear, 
rest  solely  on  the  two-year  course  for  graduates  of  high  schools.  Their 
\vork  mav  justly  he  regarded,  therefore,  as  exclusively  professional.  Los 
Angeles  still  maintains  the  four-year  course  for  a  few.  The  great 
majority  of  her  entering  students  for  the  past  few  years,  however, 
have  been  graduates  of  good  high  schools.  The  high  school  basis  for  these 
three  schools  is  easily  possible,  since  they  are  located  in  those  sections 
of  the  State  where  high  school  development  has  been  best  and  strongest. 
In  justice  it  should  be  noted,  also,  that  although  all  these  schools 
have  to  oeeupv  themselves  in  a  measure  with  the  academic  fitness  of  the 
student  for  teaching,  such  work,  even  when  devoted  liberally  to  positive 
general  culture  as  at  Chico  and  San  Diego,  is  still  made  to  rest  directly 
upon  fitness  for  teaching.  The  study  of  any  subject  of  general  interest 
from  the  teacher's  point  of  view  can  no  longer  be  the  same,  in  a  live 
normal  school,  as  the  pursuit,  of  the  same  subject  for  merely  cultural 
purposes.  Arithmetic,  literature,  English,  science,  e.  g.,  may  all  be 
made  specially  significant  to  the  one  who  is  to  become  a  teacher  of  them. 
"Thou  that  teaches!  another,  toaehest  thou  not  thyself ?v  Nor  is  the 
teacher's  point  of  view,  so  far  as  she  goes,  any  narrower  than  the  purely 
cultural.  Indeed,  it  comprehends  the  latter,  and  adds  to  it  the  teacher's 
interests  in  the  child  as  affected  by  culture,  as  growing  under  its  in- 
fluence, and  in  educational  and  cultural  aims  in  the  broadest  sense.  In 
a  true  sense,  therefore,  all  of  the  work  of  the  California  normal  schools 
is  making  directly  for  the  professional  efficiency  and  breadth  of  their 
graduates.  In  a  true  sense,  no  line  of  work  is  either  conceived  or 
executed  from  a  cultural  point  of  view  alone. 

PENDING  ISSUES  AND  PROBLEMS. 

.  The  work  of  the  past  five  years,  covering  also  the  period  of  the 
activity  of  the  two  new  schools  at  San  Diego  and  San  Francisco,  gives  the 
key  to  the  current  problems  in  normal  school  work.  Without  a  doubt  the 
great  issue  to-day  is  the  standard  of  admission.  Should  they  all  advance 
so:  n  to  the  requirement  that  all  candidates  for  admission  be  graduates 
of  accredited  high  schools  on  a  basis  which  would  admit  to  the  Univer- 
sity, or  have  equivalent  preparation  as  is  the  case  at  present  with  San 
Francisco,  San  Jose  and  practically  also  Los  Angeles  ?  In  addition  to  their 


two-year  courses  for  such  candidates,  Chico  and  San  Diego  si  ill  main- 
tain four-year  courses  for  graduates  of  the  ninth  grade.  IJut  1hc  question 
before  the  State  at  present  is:  How  is  our  normal  school  work  being 
atl'eeted  by  the  new  standard  which  lias  heen  coining  in?  The  old  culture 
courses  of  the  normal  schools  kept  in  view  the  practical  as  well  as  liberal 
cultural  demands  of  the  teacher.  The  high  schools  cannot  do  this,  for 
they  are  dominated  still  by  the  classic  element  as  a  necessary  propa- 
deutics  to  University  work.  Latin  may  he  very  essential  to  this  end. 
but  it  is  hard  to  justify  its  dominance  of  a  work  whicl^  should  serve  the 
general  cultural  interests  of  a  people  more  than  the  high  schools  arc1 
doing  at  the  present  time.  The  equipment  of  many  pupils  in  our  high 
schools  with  meagre  *Latin  which  they  will  never  have  a  chance  to  study 
in  the  University,  is  cutting  them  olT  from  many  things  ihev  have  a 
clear  right  to,  and  unfitting  them  for  entrance  into  anything  hut  the 
University.  The  relative  value  of  certain  culture  for  elementary  ,-chool 
teachers,,  is  a,  problem  in  the  training  of  teachers  which  cannot  be  over- 
looked. 

The  present  writer  undertook  some  investigation  a  year  ago  of  this 
question  among  the  normal  schools  of  the  United  States,  the  results  of 
which  may  be  summed  up  as  follows:  The  high  school  graduate  does 
not  in  all  respects  represent  that  general  culture  and  training  which 
many  years  of  normal  school  experience  have  shown  to  be  prerequisite 
for  the  teacher.  It  appears  that  a  normal  school,  by  virtue  of  its  pro- 
fessional aspect,  is  a  good  place  in  which  to  discover  how  much  one 
knows  and  how  effectively  he  knows  it.  These  schools  find  the  high 
school  graduates  deficient  in  most  of  those  lines  of  general  information 
which  are  to-day  the  common  stock  in  trade,  in  the  power  readily  and 
effectively  to  use  the  English  language  and  the  principles  of  arithmetic, 
in  scientific  knowledge,  in  power  of  independent  thought  and  interpre- 
tation. They  are  stronger  on  the  side  of  higher  mathematics,  the  formal 
side  of  classical  studies,  and  in  the  power  to  memorize  and  get  assigned 
lessons  from  texts.  The  comprehensive  defect  is  absence  of  culture  so 
far  a.s  it  relates  to  the  realities  of  life.  It  is  being  felt  more  and  more 
in  the  State  that  the  high  school  should  not  aim  primarily  to  prepare 
for  entrance  to  the  University;  that  is  its  incidental  function.  It  should 
rather  make  for  the  many-sided  development  of  the  adolescent  in  the 
direction  of  more  effective  and  worthy  manhood  or  womanhood  along 
lines  of  general  culture,  with  some  specialization  along  the  line  of  special 
bent.  When  the  high  schools  are  permitted  to  give  greater  prominence 
to  real  literary  and  Ivnglish  training,  to  the  social  and  natural  sciences, 
to  arithmetic,  music  and  art.  and  by  methods  thai  shall  more  generally 
provoke  real  thought  as  well  as  exercise  memory,  their  graduates  will 


21 

bo  in  much  better  condition  to  undertake  normal  school  work  proper. 
Normal  schools  must  not  be  understood  to  be  in  tbe  position  of  making 
anv  demands  upon  the  const  it  ut  ion  of  the  high  schools;  for  the  latter 
have  alreadv  been  too  much  hampered  by  such  purely  external  considera- 
tions as  that  of  preparation  for  the  universities.  But  the  truth  remains 
that  \vhen  the  high  school  graduates  stand  closer  to  the  demands  of 
present  day  citizenship,  character  and  mental  equipment,  it  will  be 
possible  for  tbe  normal  school  to  undertake  their  professional  training 
far  more  effectively.  Most  of  the  remaining  defects  in  culture  will  be 
those  arising  from  the  new  or  more  perfect  viewpoint  which  a  teacher 
must  always  bring  to  the  subject  'matter,  and  from  lack  of  skill  in 
execution;  and  these  defects  can  best  be  met  in  connection  with,  and 
under  the  stimulus  of  the  teacher's  professional  problems.  Moreover, 
wherever  secondary  training  in  such  lines  as  social  and  natural  science, 
English  composition,  literature  and  mathematics,  has  dealt  with  the 
function  of  thought  as  well  as  that  of  memory,  the  student's  grasp  of 
method  should  enable  him  readily  to  do  what  every  teacher  in  practice 
should  be  able  to  do — to  supply  his  own  lack  of  information  and  to  do 
so  accurately. 

Another  issue  now  before  our  normal  schools  may  be  said  to  grow  out 
of  the  above.  The  emphasis  of  professional  work,  which  in  some  cases 
has  monopolized  the  time  of  the  two-year  course,  has  entailed  also  a 
very  great  emphasis,  especially  at  San  Francisco,  of  practice  work.  The 
relative  merits  of  theoretical  pedagogics  and  practice  teaching  are  not 
viewed  alike  by  these  normal  schools.  The  experience  of  the  future 
may  be  expected  to  have  something  of  practical  value  in  store,  for  some  of 
these  schools  place  great  emphasis  on  theoretical  professional  training, 
e.  g..  Los  Angeles  and  Chico;  others  reduce  it  to  a  minimum  and  rely 
almost  solely  on  the  formation  of  teaching  habits  in  practice  work,  e.  g., 
San  I4' ran cisco. 

At  the  last  Joint  Board  meeting,  San  Diego,  April  12-13,  1903, 
(iovernor  (Jeorge  ( •.  Pardee.  chairman,  succeeded  in  bringing  new  life 
and  interest  into  its  work,  by  raising  a  number  of  issues  and  securing  a 
new  attack  upon  normal  problems  peculiar  to  this  State. 

It  appears  that  male  attendance  in  the  California  normal  schools 
is  rapidly  falling  off.  Yet  it  is  eminently  desirable  that  men  receive 
this  training  and  infuse  the  spirit  and  life  of  men  into  elementary  school 
work.  The  falling-  off  is  due  to  two  chief  causes :  the  revival  of  industry 
on  this  Coast  which  oll'ers  a  superior  financial  field  for  young  men  of 
intelligence,  and  the  preference  of  men  for  University  training,  which 
leads  them  to  seek  the  {/diversity  more  readily  and  directly  by  way  of 
the  High  Schools.  It  is.  therefore,  a  matter  of  concern  as  to  how  to 


22 

stimulate  male  attendance  at  the  Normal  Schools,  in  order  that  those 
vvoung  jnen  who  ultimately  enter  the  University  with  a"  view  to  more 
advanced  educational  work,  shall  have  first  received  the  practical  train- 
ing for  elementary  teachers,  the  hest  possible  fore-school  for  supervisory 
work. 

This  introduces  a  new  problem,  that  of  the  relation  of  the  Normal 
Schools  to  the  University  in  the  State  system.  What  recognition  should 
the  Latin-less  Normals  receive,  if  their  best  graduates  ultimately  desire 
to  enter  the  University?  This  is  a  laudable  ambition  in  elementary 
teachers.  Yet  at  present  there  is  no  way  by  which  they  can  enter  upon 
such  work  and  receive  a  just  equivalent  standing  for  past  experience 
and  training,  or  specialize^-freely  and  without  reference  to  certain  pre- 
liminary but  unrelated  work  they  may  never  have  had. 

Continuous  sessions  of  the  Normal  Schools,  especially  for  the  pur- 
pose of  placing  them  at  the  service  of  teachers  in  practice,  is  another 
problem  which  the  San  Jose  School  has  already  taken  steps  to  meet. 

Three  of  California's  Normals  have  undertaken  to  train  Kinder- 
gartners;  but  recent  discussion  has  called  this  work  in  question,  owing 
to  the  fact  that  Kindergartens,  maintained  at  public  expense,  have  not 
yet  become  popular,  .ex  ept  in  a  few  localities. 

Finally  there  is  evidence  that  the  further  protection  of  the  standard 
of  the  State  for  the  training  of  its  teachers  will  be  agitated  along  the 
line  of  the  German  "Probejahr."  or  year  of  probation.  At  present  the 
Normal  diploma  is  in  effect  a  life  certificate  to  teach,  and  there  is  no 
effective  means  of  protecting  it  after  the  graduation  of  the  candidate. 
The  probation  year  would  be  a  step  in  this  direction. 

Such  then  are  the  issues  now  before  the  Normal  Schools  of  our 
State:  Whence  and  under  what  conditions  shall  we  draw  our  candi- 
dates for  the  teaching  profession?  What  is  the  real  value  of  theoretical 
pedagogical  training  and  what  relation  does  it  bear  to  practice  training 
in  teaching  habits?  In  what  should  the  theoretical  training  consist 
to  be  most  effective?  By  what  means  can  male  attendance  be  increased  ''. 
What  should  be  the  standing  of  the  Normal-trained  teacher  on  entering 
the  University?  Shall  continuous,  especially  summer,  sessions  be  insti- 
tuted? Shall  the  Normal  Schools  train  Kindergartners  at  State  ex- 
pense? Shall  the  Normal  diploma  lie  made  a  permanent  basis  for  cer- 
tification only  after  satisfactory  evidence  has  been  furnished,  under 
special  supervision,  of  practical  success  in  the  teaching  service? 

CHARLES  C.  VAN  LIK\\. 
February,  1904. 

*I  am  indebted  to  the  presidents  and  faculties  of  the  State  normal 


23 

schools,  of  California  for  much,  raluable  and  helpful  information.  I 
have  also  ma<lii  -use  of  I  lie  reports  and  catalogues  of  the  various  institu- 
tions, of  the  reports  of  the  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction, 
of  the  Joint  Board  minutes,  the  bulletins  of  the  San  Francisco  Normal 
School  and  the  Los  Angeles  Normal  Exponent.  Vol.  XI,  No.  5. 

C.  C.  V.  L, 


K!) 


THE    UNIVERSITY    OF 
CALIFORNIA 


A    MONOGRAPH 


BY    HARRY  ALLEN   OVERSTREET 


•U  PUBLISHED     BY  I1 

DEPARTMENT  OF   EDUCATION 
CALIFORNIA  LOUISIANA  PURCHASE   EXPOSITION 
=  COMMISSION 


The  University  of  California 


By  HARRY  ALLEN  OVERSTREET 


The  University  of  California 


By  HARRY  ALLEN  OVERSTREET 


Tt  is  significant  of  the  place  which  the  University  of  California 
holds  in  the  political  organization  of  which  it  is  a  part,  that  its  date  of 
birth,  in  organic  idea,  is  one  with  the  birth-date  of  the  State.  The  very 
first  Constitution  of  the  incipient  commonwealth  prescrihed  measures 
for  the  protection  and  proper  disposition  of  lands  granted  for  the  sup- 
port of  a  university  of  the  State  and  made  it  a  duty  of  the  Legislature 
to  "provide  effectual  means  for  the  improvement  and  permanent  security 
of  the  funds  of  said  university.*'" 

But  although  a  university  of  the  State  was  thus  called  for  by  the 
Constitution  of  1S1!),  it  was  not  until  1868  that  the  University  of  Cal- 
ifornia was  founded.  The  intervening  years  were  years  of  preparation, 
with  their  many  uncertainties  as  to  the  character  of  the  new  institution, 
their  tentative  suggestions  and  rejected  plans,  and  often  their  periods 
of  gloomy  doubt  as  to  the  whole  affair.  Throughout  them  all.  however, 
are  found  .the  traces  of  steadfast  effort  on  the  part  of  a  small  body  of 
earnest  men  toward  the  accomplishment  of  the  wished-for  end.  These 
men  in  public  and  private  utterances  mad*1  the  voters  of  California  alive 
to  the  vital  need  of  an  adequate  university,  and  by 'the  educative  influence 
of  their  arguments  kept  the  public  pressure  on  the  Legislature  suf- 
ficiently firm. 

The  Constitution  of  1849  had  not  been  able  to  make  definite  pro- 
vision for  the  support  of  the  proposed  university,  but  the  Constitutional 
Convention  had  prayed  Congress  to  adopt  such  measures  that  "seventy- 
two  sections  of  the  unappropriated  lands  within  the  State  should  be  set 
apart  and  reserved  for  the  use  and  support  of  the  university,  which, 
together  with  such  ^  further  quantities  as  might  be  agreed  upon  by  Con- 
gress, should  be  conveyed  to  the  State  and  appropriated  solely  to  the  use 


and  support  of  the  university/'  Congress  responded  affirmatively  in 
*isr>:5  with  a  granl  of  forty-six  thousand  and  eight  v  acres  for  a  "seminary 
of  lea rni ng. 

AVith  the  income  from  these  lands  assured,  the  support  of  some  kind 
of  an  institution  appeared  a  certainty,  and  resolutions  were  passed  in 
successive  Legislat u res  looking  to  the  organization  of  a  State  university. 
One  of  the  plans  proposed  at  this  time  is  remarkable  as  an  indication 
of  what  higher  education  in  California  did  not  suffer  from  its  friend.-. 
As  recounted  by  Professor  William  Carey  Jones,  in  his  "///V/or//  o/  thi- 
I' nirrrxili/  of  C<{Hfnrn'm"  "]Jev.  Sam.  B.  Bell,  representing  Alameda 
am!  Santa  C.Mara  counties,  had  meanwhile  introduced  an  extraordinary 
bill  into  the  Senate  'for  organizing  the  University  of  the  State  of  Cali- 
fornia under  ihe  name  of  the  Regents  of  the  University  of  the  State 
of  California.'  .  .  .  The  bill  was  introduced  on  March  23.  ISoS. 
went  through  the  usual  course,  was  at  one  time  laid  on  the  table,  was 
then  called  up  through  the  urgency  of  Mr.  Bell,  and  on  April  10  passed 
the  Senate.  It  was  then  sent  to  the  Assembly,  where  it  wras  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Education.  The  report  of  this  committee.1  was  one 
of  crushing  destruction  to  the  project.  The  proposition  of  the  bill  was  to 
establish  a  body  of  regents,  with  various  salaried  officers  appointed  by 
them,  including  a  chancellor,  vice-chancellor,  treasurer  and  secretary: 
to  unite  under  this  board  all  the  colleges  then  established  and  thereafter 
to  be  established  in  the  State,  with  whatsoever  faculties  they  might  have, 
and  wheresoever  situated;  and  to  distribute  among  thes-e  scattered  in- 
stitutions the  funds  that  were  designed  for  the  university.  The  com- 
mittee declared  that  'such  a  heterogeneous  combination  for  a  university* 
would  be  'impolitic,  impracticable,  and  not  the  institution  contemplated 
by  the  Act  of  Congress/  " 

In  1858  the  Legislature  ordered  the  sale  of  the  public  lands  and 
directed  that  the  proceeds  lie  held  by  the  Treasurer  of  the  State  as  a 
special  fund  to  be  devoted  to  the  uses  of  the  "seminary/'  But  not  with- 
standing (he  official  urgings  of  Superintendents  of  Public  Instruction, 
and  of  legislators,  plans  and  resolutions  in  these  years  still  came  to 
nothing. 

Clearly,  the  great  difficulty  in  the  way  of  establishing  a  university 
was  the  inadequacy  of  the  funds  at  hand.  With  the  income  assured,  a 
very  small  college  might  have  been  maintained,  or  perhaps  a  polytechnic 
school  :  hut  the  men  who  were  earnest  for  the  university  looked  for  some- 
thing better  than  this.  Hence  the  great  stimulus  to  effort  that  came  with 
the  passage  of  the  Morrill  Act  in  1862.  In  pursuance  of  this  Act.  the 
Tnited  States  granted  to  California  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
acres  for  the  endowment  of  a  college  which  should  have  for  its  main 


OF  THE 

(  UNIVERSITY  ) 


object  the  teaching  of  agriculture  and  mechanics.  Here  at  last  seemed 
an  adequate  provision  for  the  technical  branch  of  a  university.  With 
this  assured,  the  State  might  now  devote  its  original  funds  to  the  mainte- 
nance of  other  faculties.  And  thus  the  question.,  so  anxiously  debated  in 
former  years,  whether  the  State  should  divert  its  small  funds  to  aca- 
demic education  or  to  technical  training  seemed  answered  even  beyond 
the  hopes  of  those  years,  by  the  possibility  of  combining  both  functions 
in  one  university. 

Consequently,  in  1863,  a  commission  was  appointed  to  report  a  plan 
for  the  founding  of  a  "seminary  of  learning."  'The  commission's  report 
was  decisive  in  favor  of  a  single  institution,  but  to  the  chagrin  of  the 
advocates  of  academic  education,  it  recommended  that  the  proposed 
institution  should,  for  the  time  being,  be  simply  a  polytechnic  school. 

Lar.i»vlv  pursuant  of  this  report,  the  Legislature  of  1866  passed  an 
Act  to  establish  an  Agricultural.  Mining  and  Mechanical  Arts  College. 
A  Hoard  of  Directors  was  appointed,  to  serve  for  two  years,  which  was 
to  eU'ect  plans  for  the  new  institution.  Fortunately  for  the  State,  how- 
ever, before  active  operations  were  begun.  Governor  Low.  in  n  consid- 
ering the  whole  'matter,  detected  the  unwisdom  of  diverting  all  the 
State  moneys  for  higher  learning  to  a  purely  technical  training,  and 
in  his  address  of  December  2,  1867,  urged  a  more  far-sighted  policy. 

lint  it  is  difficult  to  say  what  would  have  been  the  fate  of  the  higher 
institution  had  there  not  occurred  at  this  time  an  art  remarkable  for 
its  generosity  and  its  fine  public  spirit.  At  a  inciting  of  the  Board  of 
Trustees  of  the  College  of  California,  of  Oakland,  on  October  !»,  isi;;, 
it  was  resolved  that  all'the  lands  and  buildings  of  the  college  he  offered 
as  a  gift  to  the  State,  on  the  sole  condition  that  the  State  permanently 
maintain  in  its  proposed  university  a  college  of  letter.-.  It  was  further 
resolved,  in  pursuance  of  this,  that  the  College  of  California  should 
disincorporate  so  soon  as  the  State  should  accept  its  oii'er  ;lnd  make  pro- 
vision for  the  continuance  of  a  college  of  classical  learning.  Here  was 
the  third  great  good  fortune  of  the  Slate,  greater  and  more  touching 
than  the  others,  in  that  it  represented  the  deliberate  sacrifice  of.  a  bodv 
of  public-spirited  men.  For  the  College  of  California  was  no  weakling 
product,  glad  to  make  itself  over  into  something  stronger  and  richer. 
Founded  in  1853  b}'  a  high-minded  minister  of  Xrw  Fngland.  Henrv 
Durant,  it  had  grown  from  a  struggling  private  school  into  a  college  of 
recognized  worth  and  academic  dignity.  It  was- religious  in  its  char- 
acter, but  non-sectarian;  in  fact,  its  inceptii  n.  had  been  in  the  ideal 
of  Henry  Durant  to  establish  on  the  new  western  coast  a  college  that 
should  be  Christian  in  a  more  fundamental  sense  than  the  ordinary 
sectarian  seminaries.  Under  the  efficient  administration  of  its  founder, 


6 

it  had  come  to  hold  in  California  a  place  of  leading  influence  among 
Protestant  institutions.  Hence  it  was  a  matter  of  no  small  sacrifice1 
when  it  magnanimously  withdrew  from  its  field  of  earned  success  in 
order  that  the  State  might  have  no  rival  in  its  high  effort. 

This  gi  nerous  action  of  the  College  of  California  solved  the  prob- 
lem that  was  being  so  anxiously  debated.  Through  the  co-operative 
effort,  now,  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  proposed  College  of  Agri- 
culture, Mines  and  Mechanical  Arts,  and  the  Board  of  Trustees  of  Cal- 
ifornia College,  a  system  of  university  organization  thai^made  provision 
both  for  the  technical  education  required  by  the  Morrill  Act.  and  the 
classical  training  called  for  by  the  conditions  of  the  gift  of  California 
College  was  devised.  Governor  Haight,  in  his  inaugural  address,  recom- 
mended the  passage  of  a  law  establishing  the  university.  A  bill  to 
"create  and  organize  the  University  of  California"  was  introduced  on 
March  T>,  lS(iS,  by  Hon.  John  W.  Dwindle.  On  March  21  it  passed 
both  houses  of  the  Legislature,  and  on  March  23  was  signed  by  Gov- 
ernor Haight.  Thus  was  the  period  of  tentative  planning  at  an  end. 
The  university  was  now  virtually  an  accomplished  fact. 

"A  State  university  is  hereby  created."  reads  the  first  section  of  the 
Charter,  "pursuant  to  the  requirements  of  Section  4,  Article  IX,  of  the 
•Constitution  of  the  State  of  California;  and  in  order  to  devote  to  the 
largest  purpose  of  education  the  benefaction  made  to  the  State  of  Cal- 
ifornia." by  the  Morrill  Act  of  1862.  "The  said  university  shall  be 
called  the  University  of  California,  and  shall  be  located  on  the  grounds 
heretofore  donated  to  the  State"  by  the  College' of  California.  .  .  . 
"The  university  shall  have  for  its  design  to  provide  instruction  and 
complete  education  in  all  the  departments  of  science,  literature,  art.  in- 
dustrial and  professional  pursuits,  and  general  education,  and  also 
special  courses  of  instruction  for  the  professions  of  agriculture,  the 
mechanic  arts,  mining,  military  science,  civil  engineering,  law,  med- 
icine and  commerce."  Thus  did  the  State  assure  its  youth  not  only  an 
adequate  training  in  preparation  for  material  activities,  but  also  a  real 
cultivation  of  character. 

In  accordance  with  its  Charter,  drawn  up  almost  entirely  by  Hon. 
John  W.  Dwindle,  the  government  of  the  university  was  vested  in  a 
board  of  regents,  an  academic  senate,  and  the  separate  faculties.  The 
board  of  regents  was  to  consist  of  ex  oflirio  members,  viz.,  the  Governor 
of  the  State,  the  Lieutenant-Governor,  the  Speaker  of  the  Assembly, 
the  State  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  the  President  of  the 
State  Agricultural  Society,  the  President  of  the  Mechanics'  Institute  of 
San  Francisco,  and  the  President  of  the  university;  eight  members  ap- 
pointed^  by  the  Governor,  and  eight  honorary  members,  elected  by  the 


appointed  and  'ex  officio  members.  By  a  later  provision,  all  the  posi- 
tions  on  the  board,  with  the  exception  of  illy  held,  became 

appointive.  The  following  provision  was  e.  :n;i  le  in  the  Charter: 

"No  sectarian,  political  or  partisan  test  shall  >ver  b<  allowed  or  exer- 
cised in  the  appointment  of  regents,  or  in  the  election  of  pro  fetors, 
teachers,  or  other  officers  of  the  university,  or  in  the  admission  of 
students  thereto,  or  for  any  purpose  whatsoever.  Nor  at  any  time  shall 
the  majority  of  the  board  of  regents  be  of  any  one  religious  sect,  or  of 
no  religious  sect;  and  persons  of  every  religious  denomination,  or  of  no 
religious  denomination,  shall  be  equally  eligible  to  all  offices,  appoint- 
ments and  scholarships."  .  Regents  were  to  hold  their,  office  for  a  term 
of  sixteen  years.  The  members  first  appointed  were  to  he  classified  by 
lot,  so  that  one  member  should  go  out  of  office  at  the  end  of  every  suc- 
cessive two  years.  By  this  important  plan,  whereby  the  board  changed 
its  membership  gradually,  and  whereby  each  term  of  office  covered  a 
number  of  gubernatorial  administrations,  as  well  as  by  the  special  pro- 
vision already  noted  with  regard  to  sectarian  influence,  the  hoard  of 
regi-nt.s  was  secured  against  the  pressure  both  of  political  and  theological 
considerations.  Unlike  many  provisions  of  this  kind,  this  one  has  been 
eminently  successful  in  its  operation,  for  it  is  a  recogni/ed  fact  that  tin- 
board  of  regents,  as  it  has  gradually  changed  its  complexion  with  the 
years,  has  never  in  any  sense  been  subjected  to  illegitimate  pressure. 

The  original  constitution  of  the  University  provided  for  four  classes 
of  colleges:  (1)  College  of  Arts,  including  agriculture,  mechanics, 
mines  and  civil  engineering;  (2)  a  College  of  Letters,  or  classical 
course;  (3)  professional  colleges,  including  medicine  and  law;  (1)  other 
colleges  incorporated  into  or  affiliated  with  the  university. 

On  September  23,  1869.  the  new  university  opened  its  doors.  They 
were  the  doors,  to  be  sure,  of  the  College  of  California,  in  Oakland,  for 
there  had  not  yet  been  time  to  plan  and  bring  to  completion  the  build- 
ings of  the  new  institution;  but  those  doors  were  opened  now,  not  under 
private  endowment,  but  under  the  auspices  of  the  State.  'The  university 
began  its  work  humbly,  indeed,  with  a  class  of  forty  students  and  a 
teaching  force  of  ten  members.  Yet  there  was  power  in  this  simple 
beginning,  for  the  university  had  in  three  of  its  teachers,  at  least,  men 
who  were  to  prove  of  inestimable  worth  to  its  future  life — Henry 
Din-ant,  the  first  president  of  the  university;  John  LeConte,  professor 
of  physics  and  later  president  of  the -university,  and.  Martin  Kellogg, 
professor  in  the  College  of  California,  professor  in  the  University  of 
California,  many  times  chairman  of  its  faculties,  and  later  president 
of  the  university.  The  last  of  these  has  only  just  passed  awav,  in  ripe 
old  age  and  the  honor  of  approved  scholarship. 


8 

The  instruction  begun  in  the  College  of  California  buildings  in  1869 
w,as  continued  there  until  the  summer  of  1873.  On  July  16,  1873.  the 
commencement  exercises  of  the  iirst  class  to  graduate — a  class  of  twelve 
—wore  held  in  Berkeley,  and  the  university  then  made  formal  entrance 
upon  ils  new  home. 

The  university  was  from  1870  to  1872  under  the  presidency  of 
Henry  Durani.  I'pon  his  resignation,  Professor  Daniel  Coil  Oilman 
accepted  t'he  call  to  the  position.  President  Oilman  remained  with  the 
imiversitv  until  1875.  when  the  fascinating  offer  extended  to  him  by 
I  he  incipient  John-  Hopkins  University  successfully  tempted  him  from 
the  western  coast.  The  executive  office  was  then  filled  by  Professor 
John  LeConte. 

In  the  first  two  years  of  the  university's  existence,  two  important 
steps  were  taki  n  that  have  not  since  been  retraced.  In  1869  all  ad- 
mission and  tuition  fees  were  abolished,  and  in  1870  the  university  was 
opened  to  women  on  terms  of  complete  equality  with  men.  The  latter 
provision  was  made  part  of  the  State  Constitution  of  1879,  where  it 
was  expressly  stated  that  no  person  should  "be  debarred  admission  to 
any  of  the  collegiate  departments  of  the  university  on  account  of  sex." 

President  LeConte  resigned  his  office  in  1881  and  was  succeeded 
by  William  T.  LYid.  The  latter  held  -ollice  until  18S5.  when  he  was 
succeeded  by  Professor  Edward  S.  Holden.  The  new  president  was  to 
till  tin1  vacancy  only  until  the  completion  of  the  Lick  Observatory,  when 
he  was  to  assume  the  position  of  its  director.  Upon  the  completion  of 
the  observatory  in  .1SSS.  Hon.  Horace  Davis  was  elected  to  the  presi- 
dency, remaining  in  office  until  1890.  Upon  his  resignation,  the  office 
was  for  some  years  unfilled.  Professor  Martin  Kellogg  meanwhile  per- 
forming its  duties  as  chairman  of  the  faculties.  On  January  24,  IS!):;. 
1'rofessor  Kellogg  was  elected  to  the  presidency,  administering  his  otlice 
with  efficiency  until  1S<)9.  With  the  resignation  of  President  Kellogg 
.and  tin-  election  of  his  honored  successor,  President  Benjamin  Ide 
Wheeler,  we  are  brought  to  the  present,  and  mav  now  retrace  our  steps 
for  a  consideration  of  some  of  the  determining  events  in  the  life  of  the 
university  during  the  years  recounted. 

Between  18G9  and  190;}.  the  growth  of  the  university  has  been  noth- 
ing less  than  marvelous.  Beginning  with  a  total  registration  of  24.  and 
graduating  a  first  class  of  12,  the  university  has  grown  in  numbers,  until 
in  1903  the  ollieial  registration  showed  a  total  of  2669  students  enrolled 
in  the  academic  colleges  alone;  while  in  the  university,  inclusive  of  the 
Alliliated  Colleges  of  Law.  Medicine,  Pharmaev  and  Art.  and  the  Lick 
Observatory,  there  was  a  total  of  3275.  The  instructing  force  lias  in- 
creased from  10  in  1S(J9  to  a  total  in  the  academic  colleges,  of  2it> 


I 


in  1903,  and  in  the  whole  university  of  434.  From  a  first  graduating 
class  of  12.  the  university  has  grown  until,  in  1902,  it  graduated  a  senior 
class  of  280  in  the  academic  colleges,  and  in  the  whole  university  a  class 
of  417. 

But  this  remarkable  growth  would  hardly  have  been  possible  had  not 
the  State  in  1887  generously  placed  at, the  disposal  of  the  university  a 
permanent  income  from  the  State  moneys.  In  1887,  the  Vrooman  Act, 
introduced  into  the  State  Senate  by  the  Hon.  Henry  Vrooman,  and 
into  the  Assembly  by  the  Hon.  C.  A.  Alexander,  provided  that  the  uni- 
versity should  receive  annually  the  proceeds  of  a  tax  of  one  cent  upon 
every  one  hundred  dollars  of  taxable  property  in  the  State.  Hardly 
could  a  la\v  more  vital  to  the  university  have  been  enacted,  for  by  plac- 
ing the  university's  support  upon  a  constitutional  and  not  a  legislative 
basis,  il  permanently  freed  the  institution  from  the  dangers  of  political 
variation. 

Thus  with  an  assured  income,  and  with  the  pledge  given  by  the 
State  in  its  Constitution  of  1879,  that  the  maintenance  of  the  university 
should  be  perpetual,  the  I'niversity  of  California  .was  able,  for  a  time 
at  least,  to  free  itself  of  the  more  distressing  material  anxieties  and  to 
address  itself  to  its  essential  business  of  providing  a  culture  and  a 
training  that  should  he  adequate. 

But  a  great  difficulty  lay  in  its  pathway  in  the  early  years,  a  diffi- 
culty that  for  some  time  threatened  to  bring  all  its  efforts  to  naught.  To 
educate,  it  must  have  students,  and  to  be  a  university,  it  must  have 
students  trained  up  to  matriculation  standards  of  a  university.  The 
success  of  the  university,  then,  was  one  with  the  success  of  the  high 
schools  of  the  State.  It  may  be  imagined,  therefore,  how  severe  was  the 
blow  to  the  university  when,  by  the  Constitution  of  1879,  all  State  aid 
was  withdrawn  from  the  high  schools  and  all  the  State's  moneys  for 
common  schools  were  diverted  to  the  schools  of  elementary  grade.  For 
I'itime  it  seemed  as  though  the  university  must  go  under  for  lack  of 
proper  material.  But  after  a  period  of  dark  uncertainty,  the  communi- 
ties throughout  the  State  bestirred  themselves  to  a  manful  local  support 
of  high  schools.  Thus  was  this  really  grave  clanger  averted. 

But  a  second  danger  lay  in  the  complete  separation  of  high  schools 
and  university.  The  high  schools  pursued  their  work  as  best  they  knew 
how.  with  no  indication  as  to  the  university's  standards;  the  university 
pursued  its  work  irrespective  of  the  kind  of  training  given  in  the  high 
schools.  The  result  was  inevitable  friction  and  loss  of  energy  on  both 
sides.  It  was  soon  realized  by  the  university  that  if  it  was  to  be  suc- 
cessful, iheiv  must  be  a  unified  high  school  system  in  the  State  that 
should  join  properly  with  the  system  of  higher  training.  Hence  the 


10 

university  set  to  work  to  evolve  a  plan  whereby  secondary  and  higher 
education  might  be  brought  into  more  harmonious  conjunction. 

The  result  was  the  system,  since  then  become  permanent,  of  accredit- 
ing high  schools.  Before  this  plan  was  adopted  students  were  admitted 
to  the  university  only  upon  examination.  It  was  now  agreed  that 
students  who  should  graduate  from  high  schools  approved  bv  the  uni- 
versit}r,  and  who  should  have,  in  addition  to  their  diploma,  a  recom- 
mendation of  their  principal,  showing  their  work  to  have  been  of  supe- 
rior character,  might  enter' the  university  without  examination.  The 
effect  of  the  accrediting  system  upon  the  education  of*  the  State  lias 
been  of  the  very  best.  In  order  to  determine  the  character  of  the  various 
high  schools,  the  university  found  it  necessary  to  send  men  of  its  facul- 
ties to  examine  the  work  done.  This  at  once  brought  about  intercourse 
between  the  two  systems  of  education;  the  high  schools  learned  the  re- 
quirements of- the  university;  the  university  became  aware  of  the  needs 
and  the  obstacles  of  the  high  schools.  The  result  was  an  increasingly 
greater  unifying  of  the  whole  system  of  secondary  and  higher  educa- 
tion throughout  the  State.  And  the  effect  has  at  the  present  penetrated 
even  to  the  grammar  schools,  so  that  the  next  years  bid  fair  to  see  the 
triple  system  of  education  in  California,  with  all  its  past  waste  and 
friction,  rationally  and  uniformly  organized.  That  the  accrediting 
work  has  met  with  real  success  may  be  seen  from  the  fact  that  from 
three  accredited  high  schools  in  1884,  the  list  has  grown  until,  accord- 
ing to  the  last  report  (1903),  the  accredited  schools  of  the  State  now 
number  118. 

The  years  that  we  have  recorded  witnessed  many  important  acqui- 
sitions by  the  university.  The  Colleges  of  Law,  Pharmacy,  Dentistry  and 
Medicine  were  established  in  San  Francisco  and  affiliated  with  the  State 
institution.  The  munificent  bequest  of  $700,000  made  by  James  Lick, 
in  1876,  for  the  founding  and  equipment  of  an  astronomical  observatory 
gave  the  first  great  impetus  to  the  adequate  support  of  scientific  work 
in  California.  In  1872,  Mr.  Edw.  Tompkins,  by  a  grant  of  land  in 
Oakland,  established  the  first  endowed  chair  in  the  university,  the 
Agassiz  professorship  of  Oriental  Languages  and  Literature.  In  1878, 
Mr.  J.  K.  P.  Harmon  responded  to  a  much  felt  want  by  building  and 
equipping  a  students'  gymnasium  on  the  campus.  The  nucleus  of  one 
of  the  most  important  of  all  the  university's  funds,  the  library  fund, 
was  established  by  Michael  Eeese;  while  the  founding  of  an  art  gallery 
was  due  to  the  generous  gift  of  Henry  D.  Bacon.  In  1881,  Mr.  D.  0. 
Mills,  by  a  gift  of  $75,000,  established  the  second  endowed  chair  in 
the  university,  the  Mills  Professorship  of  Intellectual  and  Moral  Philos- 
ophy and  Civil  Polity.  This  endowment  has  proved  of  inestimable  worth 


LIBRWW  SQUARE 


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OF 

CALIFORNIA 


-2  S 

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11 

to  the  higher  life  of  the  university.  In  1893.  Mr.  Edw.  Searles  trans- 
ferred to  the  university  the  land  and  buildings  in  San  Francisco  now 
known  as  the  Mark  Hopkins  Institute  of  Art  "for  the  exclusive  uses  and 
purposes  of  instruction  and  illustration  of  the  fine  arts,  music  and 
literature.'7  In  1898,  Miss  Cora  Jane  Flood  made  over  to  the  board  of 
regents  the  Flood  mansion,  near  Menlo  Park,  together  with  certain 
lands  and  shares. 

In  1891,  Mrs.  Phoebe  A.  Hearst  laid  the  foundations  of  a  scholar- 
ship system  in  the  university.  In  a  letter  to  the  board  of  regents,  of 
the  date  September  28,  1891,  she  expressed  her  aims  as  follows:  "It 
is  my  intention  to  contribute  annually  to  the  funds  of  the  University 
of  California  a  sum  sufficient  to  support  eight  three  hundred  dollar 
scholarships  for  worthy  young  women.  .  .  .  I  bind  myself  to  pay 
this  sum  during  my  life  time,  and  I  have  provided  for  a  perpetual  fund 
after  my  death.  The  qualifications  entitling  students  to  the  scholar- 
ships shall  be  noble  character  and  high  aims,  it  being  understood  that 
without  the  assistance  here  given,  the  university  course  would  in  each 
case  be  impossible.  .  .  .  The  award  shall  be  made  by  a  vote  of  the 
faculty,  but  I  do  not  wish  any  scholarship  to  be  given  as  a  prize  for 
honors  in  entrance  examinations." 

Six  years  later,  when  the  doubling  of  the  university's  income  was 
assured  by  the  State  Legislature,  the  university  appropriated  three 
thousand  and  five  hundred  dollars  "to  be  distributed  equally  among  the 
eight  Congressional  districts  of  the  State,  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  poor 
and  deserving  students  to  attend  the  State  University/7  These  scholar- 
ships were  to  be  known  as  the  "State  of  California  Scholarships ;"  they 
were  not  to  exceed  twenty-eight  in  number  and  were  to  yield  to  each 
holder  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  per  annum.  Immediately 
this  appropriation  was  made,  Mr.  Levi  Strauss  of  San  Francisco  gen- 
erously offered  to  duplicate  it,  the  scholarships  to  be  of  exactly  the  same 
character  with  regard  to  income  and  award  as  those  provided  by  the 
State. 

In  addition  to  these  sixty-two  scholarships,  single  scholarships  have 
been  established  by  various  persons  and  institutions.  In  1899,  Mrs. 
Cornelius  B.  Houghton,  in  memory  of  her  husband,  made  provision  for 
an  annual  scholarship.  The  San  Francisco  Girls'  High  School,  the 
Haywards,  the  San  Jose  and  the  Los  Angeles  High  Schools  have  main- 
tained scholarship  funds  which  they  apportion  to  the  meriting  members 
of  their  schools.  Besides  these,  scholarships  are  awarded  out  of  the 
William  ,and  Alice  Hinckley  fund  and  the  Joseph  Bonnheim  memorial 
fund.  For  the  encouragement  of  graduate  work,  the  university  awards 
the  LeConte  Memorial  Fellowship,  established  by  the  Alumni  Association, 


12 

in  memory  of  Professors  John  and  Joseph  LeContc.  three  University 
Fellowships  at  the  Lick  Observatory,  two  Whiting  Traveling  Fellow- 
snips,  maintained  out  of  a  bequest  of  $20,000  made  by  the  will  of  Harold 
Whiting,  formerly  associate  professor  of  physics  in  the  university,  two 
Emanu-El  Fellowships  in  Semitic  languages,  established  by  the  Congre- 
gation Emanu-El  of  San  Francisco;  tbe  Harvard  Club  scholarship,  and 
the  Yale  Alumni  Fellowship,  founded  and  maintained  by  graduates 
of  these  universities.  In  addition,  the  university  has  two  loan  funds,  the 
Frank  J.  Walton  Memorial  Loan  Fund,  established  by  the  Class  of  1883, 
and  the  loan  fund  of  the  Class  of  1886. 

We  have  already  mentioned  the  State's  grant  to  the  university  in 
1887  of  an  income  of  one  cent  on.  every  one  hundred  dollars  of  taxable 
property.  For  a  few  }*ears  the  funds  thus  accruing  were,  economically 
administered,  adequate  to  the  needs  of  the  university.  But  then  came 
a  period  of  unprecedented  growth.  Within  five  years — from  1891  to 
189C — the  enrollment  of  the  university  increased  by  a  full  three-fold, 
while  the  funds  at  its  disposal  remained  practically  unaltered.  The  in- 
stitution was  in  direst  straits,  not  only  because  it  had  no  means  to  aug- 
ment its  teaching  force  sufficiently  to  meet  the  larger  needs,  but  also 
because  it  was  unable  even  to  provide  room  for  the  ever-increasing 
numbers. 

Determined  action  was  necessary.  In  a  report  to  the  board  of 
regents  in  May,  1896,  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee,  consisting  of 
Regents  Reinstein,  Black,  and  Rodgers,  made  a  statement  of  the  uni- 
versity's distress  that  became  a  basis  for  an  appeal  to  the  State  Legis- 
lature. 

"The  provision  made  by  the  State  of  California  for  the  constantly  increas- 
ing wants  of  the  State  University  is  embodied  in  1lic  Act  of  the  Legislature 
of  1887,  and  consists  of  a  tax  of  one-tenth  of  a  mill  on  the  dollar. 

"At  that  time  the  number  of  students  in  the  University  was  288,  while 
nowr  it  is  1336  (at  Berkeley).  The  provision  then  made  by  the  Legislature 
was  considered  just  soifficient  for  the  then  needs  of  the  University,  and  it  was 
anticipated  that  the  taxable  wealth  of  1lie  Stale  would  increase  in  just  about 
the  proportion  that  the  University  would  grow,  and  thus  meet  and  provide  for 
the  constantly  increasing  demands  of  the  University  through  the  enlargement 
of  the  number  of  its  students.  This  expectation  -eenivd  then  to  be  well  founded, 
and  was  justified  by  the  growth  of  the  University  for  the  succeeding  four  years, 
but  since  the  year  1891,  the  number  of  students  at  the  University,  which  was 
then  450,  has  increased  to  a  degree  as  remarkable  as  it  is  gratifying. 

"Within  the  last  four  years  the  number  of  students  at  the  State  University 
has.  trebled,  and  is  at  the  present  writing  1336,  while  in  the  entire  University, 
including  its  affiliated  colleges,  the  number  is  2047.  while  the  indications  are 
that  the  next  Freshman  class  will  outnumber  all  before  it.  The  income  of  the 
University  from  this  Act,  however,  so  far  from  doubling,  lias  increased  only 


O 

H 


I 


!r 


13 

an   insignificant   amount   within   the   last  five  years,,  and  is  actually  less  in  1895 
than  in  1894  or  1893. 

"Under  these  circumstances  alone,  it  is  but  reasonable  to  believe  .that  the 
next  Legislature  will  take  such  steps  as  will  be  commensurate  with  the  power, 
the  pride,  and  the  dignity  of  a  sovereign  State,  when  it  realizes  that  the  pro- 
vision for  the  support  of  the  University  made  by  the  Legislature  in  1887  is 
entirely  inadequate  to  the  present  quadrupled  demands  of  the  University,  and 
still  less  adequate  to  maintain  that  constantly  increasing  prosperity  of  the 
State's  highest  institution  of  learning,  which  is  a  just  source  of  State  pride 
and  an  essential  condition  of  State  dignity  and  prosperity." 

In  response  to  this  statement  of  needs  a  bill  was,  in  1897.  introduced 
bv  Hon.  F.  S.  S'tratton  into  the  Senate,  and  into  the  Assembly  by  II on. 
Howard  E.  Wright,  which  provided  that  the  university's  income  should 
be  increased  to  two  cents  on  every  hundred  dollars  of  taxable  property. 
To  the  great  relief  of  all  friends  of  the  university,  the  bill  passed  both 
Houses  without  opposition  and  was  signed  by  Governor  Budd  on  Feb- 
ruary 27.  1897.  Thus'  did  the  State  a  second  time  prove  her  deep  and 
abiding  interest  in  the  welfare  of  her  university. 

To  one  who  has  visited  the  university,  nothing  can  be  more  strikingly 
obvious  than  the  painful  contrast  between  the  character  of  its  site  arid 
its  buildings.  Situated  on  the  foothills  of  the  Contra  Costa  range,  and 
looking  westward  out  through  the  (J  olden  (late,  its  natural  placing  is  al- 
most unmatched.  Yet  with  this  remarkable  beauty  of  location  is 
coupled  an  equally  remarkable  ugliness  of  makeshift  buildings.  The 
pressing  difficulty  that  the  university  faced  in  the  years  of  its  rapid 
growth  was  that  of  finding,  not  the  best  room,  but  any  kind  of  room  for 
its  students;  and  in  attempting  to  solve  this  difficulty  with  an  inade- 
quate income,  the  only  resort  was  in  hastily  constructed  temporary 
buildings.  The  sole  virtue  of  these  was  their  cheapness  and  their  capac- 
ity. As  a  result,  the  succeeding  years  saw  the  beautiful  campus  crowded 
more  and  more  with  homely  buildings,  scattered  about  with  hardly  a 
{bought  of  present  or  future  plan.  That  this  haphazard  construction 
was  unwise  and  ruinous  to  the  beauties  of  the  university's  site  was 
felt,  by  many,  but  two  men  especially  put  their  convictions  into  serious 
and  concerted  effort.  Mr.  B.  E.  Maybeck,  instructor  in  architectural 
drawing  in  the  university,  had  long  felt  the  need  of  a  permanent  plan 
for  the  placing  and  style  of  the  university  buildings,  and  he  was  active 
in  making  known  his  views.  They  were  heartily  seconded  by  Mr.  J.  B. 
KYinstein.  a  regent  of  the  university,  so  heartily  that  as  a  result  of  a 
communication  addressed  to  the  board  of  regents  on  April  v!!),  ISlMi, 
the  board  voted  that  there  should  be  prepared  a  programme  "for  a  per- 
manent and  comprehensive  plan,  to  be  open  to  general  competition,  for 
a  system  of  buildings  to  be  erected  upon  the  grounds  of  the  University 


14 

of  California  in  Berkeley."  Before  the  resolve  of  the  board  had  been 
rnit  into  effective  opera!  ion.  however,  it  came  to  the  notice  of.  Mrs. 
Phot-he  A.  Hearst,  who  had  herself  Ion*;-  been  deeply  concerned  in  the 
architectural  beautifying  of  the  university.  Mrs.  .Hearst,  with  a  gen- 
erosity, spontaneous  and  admirable,  wrote  at  once  to  the  board  of  re- 
gents, expressing  her  great  interest  in  the  project  and  her  desire  to  con- 
tribute wholly  the  expenses  of  the  proposed  competition.  Needless  to  say 
that  the  ofl'er  so  totally  unsolicited  and  so  magnificent  beyond  expecta- 
tions was  gratefully  accepted  by  the  board. 

It  is  impossible  in  this  cursory  history  of  the  university  to  give  more 
than  the  barest  outline  of  the  course  of  the  "Phoebe  A.  Hearst  Archi- 
tectural Competition."  That  contest  of  the  world's  known  artists  has 
become  so  internationally  famous  that  it  hardly  needs  more  than  men- 
tion to  have  its  whole  story  recalled.  In  preparing  for  the  competition, 
the  two  men  who  had  been  most  xealous  in  the  cause  were  commissioned 
to  canvass  the  leading  architects  of  the  world  to  the  end  of  enlisting 
adequate  interest  and  of  preparing  a  just  plan  of  contest.  After  careful 
consideration  a  programme  was  drawn  up.  providing  for  two  competi- 
tions, a  preliminary  one,  to  be  held  in  Antwerp,  and  a  final  one.  to  he 
held  in  San  Francisco.  The  committee  of  award  was  to  consist  of 
Messrs.  R.  Norman  Shaw,  J.  L.  Pascal,  Paul  Wollot.  Walter  Cook  and 
J!  B.  Reinstein.  Owing  to  the  illness  of  Mr.  Shaw.  Mr.  John  Belcher 
was  substituted  in  his  place.  The  preliminary  competition  opened  on 
January  15,  1898,  and  closed  July  1,  1898.  Of  the  1.05  plans  received, 
eleven  were  selected  by  the  jury  to  stand  for  the  final  contest.  As  a 
help  toward  the  further  preparation  of  their  plans,  the  winners  in  the 
first  award  were  invited,  at  the  expense  of  Mrs.  Hearst,  to  visit  the  uni- 
versity town.  The  second  contest,  in  San  Francisco,  on  September  7, 
1899.,  resulted  in  the  following  award:  first  prize,  Mons.  E.  Benard. 
Paris;  second  pri/e.  Messrs.  Howells,  Stokes  and  Hornhostcl.  New  York; 
third  prize,  Messrs.  I).  Despradelle  and  Stephen  Codman.  Boston;  fourth 
prize,  Messrs.  Howard  and  Cauldwell.  New  York:  fifth  prize.  Messrs. 
Lord,  Hewlett  and  Hull,  New  York. 

This  is  but  a  bare  statement  of  the  essential  facts  of  the  contest. 
But  if  one  would  know  the  reality  of  the  Phoebe  A.  Hearst  architectural 
competition  one  must  read  into  the  skeletal  bones  of  these  facts,  all  the 
loyal,  enthusiasm,  the  ardor  of  hope,  the  fire  of  great  purpose  awakened 
hv  the  project.  If  the  plan  had  meant  merely  an  embellishing  of  the 
ou.ter  life  of  the  university,  it  would  have  signified  little  indeed;  but 
ostensibly  a  remedy  for  the  outward,  it  called  forth  in  the  State  and  in 
the  university  the  firm  determination  that  the  inner  life  should  not  be 
unworthv. 


o 


15 

Yet  it  must  not  be  thought  that  it  was  ever  in  the  intent  of  the 
donor  that  the  plan  should  serve  merely  as  a  means  to  outer  embellish- 
ment. Mrs.  Hearst  lias  long  felt  that  beauty  serves  an  essential  need  of 
the  soul,  that  in  placing  beautiful  objects  before  the  maturing  student 
one  helps  to  develop  pure,  strong  character  as  surely  as  with  the  spoken 
truth.  Mrs.  Hearst  has  for  some  years  been  proving  the  strength  of 
her  conviction  by  providing  the  students  of  the  university  with  best 
examples  of  the  fine  arts.  With  art  collections  and  concerts  of  a  superior 
kind,  she  has  opened  the  eyes  and  the  ears  of  the  student  to  beauty.  The 
work  has  been  none  the  less  great  that  the  refining  and  purifying  in- 
fluence has  been  all  unconscious. 

In  tli is  recital  of  the  university's  growth,  we  have  made  no  reference 
to  its  attempts  to  fulfill  one1  of  the  main  purposes  of  its  establishment. 
The  grant  of  the  Mori-ill  Act  of  18G2  was  made,  as  we  have  seen,  on 
condition  that  an  institution  be  founded  that  should  have  primarily 
in  view  a  training  in  agriculture.  The  university  has  attempted  to 
meet  this  requirement  to  the  full;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  as  the 
years  have  passed  its  efforts  have  been  successful.  Up  to  1891,  work  in 
agriculture  was  entirely  within  the  university  confines.  In  that  year, 
however,  was  inaugurated  the  -custom  of  holding  "Farmers'  Instifuhs 
throughout  the  State.  By  this  means  the  university  came  into  touch 
with  the  farmers  of  California,  with  a  success  that  is  indicated  bv  the 
yearly  increase  in  the  number  of  institutes  held.  In  1897,  so  important 
had  this  work  beyond  the  university's  doors  become,  that  a  new  depart- 
ment was  created,  a  Department  of  University  Extension  in  Agriculture- 
By  means  of  the  information  disseminated  at  these  institutes,  as  well  as 
through  its  frequent  bulletins,  the  agricultural  department  of  the  uni- 
versity has  enabled  the  State  not  only  to  increase  in  very  large  degree 
its  present  agricultural  earnings,  but  also  to  make  sure  the  permanent 
fertility  of  its  soils. 

On  July  18.  1899,  the  university  entered  upon  a  new  stage  of  its 
development  in  the  election  to  its  presidency  of  Professor  Benjamin  Ide 
Wheeler,  of  Cornell  University.  The  four  years  and  a  half  of  President 
Wheeler's  administration  have  witnessed  a  remarkable  growth  in  the 
university's  prosperity,  both  in  the  inner  life  that  is  more  properly  its 
concern  and  in  the  material  resources  that  must  ever  be  indispensable. 
Those  years  have  proved  most  especially  the  deep  love  of  California  us. 
rich  and  poor  alike,  for  their  university.  In  1900-1902.  the  gifts  to  the 
university,  from  private  sources  alone,  amounted  to  about  $900,000. 
As  we  are  writing  this,  word  has  just  been  received  of  a  bequest  of  some 
$500,060  to  $(;<)<).<)<)()  by  one  of  San  Francisco's  leading  business  men, 
Mr.  Charles  F.  Doe,  for  the  building  of  a  new  university  library.  But 


16 

it  is  not  in  the  public-spirited  wealthy  alone  that  the  university  is  be- 
gi  lining  'to  iind  licr  strength.  In  count  Irss  ways  donation-  arc  being 
made  by  those  of  more  modest  income,  from  the  live  dollars  that  comes 
as  an  annual  gift  from  an  anonymous  alumnus,  or  the  scholarship  money 
returned  by  another  graduate,  to  the  more  substantial  gifts  for  library 
or  departments.  It  is  of  deepest  significance  that  California's  Alumni 
feel  the  impulse  to  give  of  their  own.  for  in  this  abiding  love  for  their 
university  lies  the  real  promise  of  her  permanent  and  increasing  great- 
ness. 

It  will  be  fitting  at  this  point  to  mention  some  of  tne  leading  bene- 
factions to  the  university  in  the  years  of  President  Wheeler's  adminis- 
tration. Only  a  bare  handful  may  be  recounted  in  this  brief  history. 
Significant  of  his  concern  for  the  higher  life  of  the  university  was  the 
gift,  in  1902,  by  Mr.  D.  0.  Mills,  of  $50,000  for  the  furtherance  of  the 
work  of  the  Department  of  Philosophy.  This  was  in  addition  to  Mr. 
Mills'  original  gift  of  $75,000  for  the  establishment  of  a  chair  of  philos- 
ophy. The  endowment  of  another  important  chair — in  classics — is  due 
to  the  generositv  of  Mrs.  J.  K.  Salber.  who  has  given  $75,000  for  that 
purpose.  Mrs.  Sather  has  also  made  over  to  the  university  real  prop- 
erly of  great  value  for  the  establishment  and  support  of  a  law  library, 
and  has,  in  addition,  made  important  gifts  of  books.  The  construction 
of  a  Physiology  building,  at  an  expense  of  $25.000.  has  been  made  pos- 
sible by  the  generosity  of  Mr.  Eudolph  Spreckels,  and  its  thorough 
equipment  by  Dr.  Max  Herzstein's  gift  of  $8000.  A  most  important 
addition  to  the  library  of  political  science,  finance,  and  history  has  been 
made  by  Mr.  Glaus  Spreckels'  gift  of  $11,675.82.  Mr.  H.  Weinstock 
has  presented  the  university  with  $5000  as  a  foundation  fund  for  the 
"Barbara  Weinstock  Lecture  on  the  Morals  of  Trade."  One  of  the  sorest 
needs  of  the  university  has  been  met  in  the  construction  of  a  great  open- 
air  theater,  built  on  the  model  of  the  Greek  Theater,  and  seating  some 
:<MH)  people.  Mr.  W.  E,  Hearst  contributed  the  $40,000  necessary  for 
the  building  of  this  unique  structure.  An  assemblage  place,  not  only 
capacious  but  singularly  beautiful,  it  will  prove  a  source  of  stimulation 
in  ways  that  have  heretofore  been  beyond  the  university's  power  to 
realize. 

When  we  attempt  to  recount  Mrs.  Hearst's  gifts  to  the  university 
the  pen  fails.  They  are  numerous  beyond  any  possible  listing,  because 
many  of  them  are  known  only  to  Mrs.  Hearst  herself.  We  have  already 
recounted  Mrs.  Hearst's  assumption  of  the  expenses  of  the  architectural 
competition.  Mrs.  Hearst  is  now  erecting,  in  accordance  with  the  ac- 
cepted plans,  a  mining  building  as  a  memorial  to  her  husband.  Senator 
Hearst.  The  minimum  cost  of  this  building  will  be  half  a  million  of 


17 

dollar,*.  She  is  maintaining  the  department  of  anthropology,  expend- 
in^  $10.01(0  a  vcar  For  five  years  for  excavations  and  research  in  Kgypt. 
$:!:>00  a  vear  for  five  years  for  ilie  like  work  in  South  America.  $10,000 
a  vcar  for  two  years  for  research  in  (Jreece.  and  $(5000  a  year  for  anthro- 
pological work  in  California,  Mexico  and  New  Mexico.  The  mainte- 
nance of  this  department  alone  for  1DOO-1 '.)<)•>  was  at  a  cost  of  $10:5.0  1C,. 
She  has  contributed  over  $(>(W<)  for  a  museuin  building,  has  presented 
the  university  witli  Hearst  Hall,  valued  at  $50. (MX),  has  supported  the 
Hearst  Domestic  Industries  at  an  annual  cost  of  over  $15,000,  has  pro- 
vided over  $•>;.()<)<>  for  the  equipment  of  the  medical  department. 
$1  o.OMO  for  a  milling  laboratory.  -$8400  for  the  equipment  of  gym- 
nasiums. The  president's  hicnnial  report  of  1898-1900  gives  the  fol- 
lo\vin«-  figures  for  the  two  years  recorded  :  "The  total  of  sifts  for  which 

r*        ^ 

figures,  have  hecn  given  in  the  foregoing  list  (exclusive  of  the  support 
of  archaeological  expeditions  of  about  $:>o.OOO  a  year)  is  $271,566.65. 
This  amount  is.  however,  far  less  than  what  Mrs.  Hearst  has  actually 
expended  for  the  hem-fit,  direct  or  indirect,  of  the  university." 

But  to  write  a  list  of  Mrs.  Hearst's  gifts  to  the  university  is  all  un- 
satisfactory, for  the  real  significance  of  them  lies  not  so  much  in  their 
magnificence,  if  one  may  use  the  word,  hut  rather  in  the  fine  insight  of 
the  giver,  the  sympathetic  touch  with  younger  lives,  the  personal  de- 
light in  discovering  the  deepest  and  the  most  real  needs.  And  though 
great  beyond  reckoning  has  been  the  tale  of  her  free-will  offerings/ 
greater,  after  all.  and  more  lasting  in  worth  for  the  university  has 
been  the  fine  idealism  of  her  character,  her  -unswerving  faith  in  ihe 
beautiful  and  the  true  and  the  good,  and  her  high  efforts  toward  their 
realization  in  her  chosen  children. 

And  yet.  even  v/ith  this  generosity  of  her  friends,  the  university  has 
not  been  Avholly  free  of  embarrassment.  Almost,  it  might  he  said,  it 
has  suffered  from  too  much  good-will,  in  1S98-9!).  the  total  registra- 
tion of  students,  including  those  in  the  professional  colleges,  was  2i;>9; 
in  1^02-03  it  had  leaped  to  3275.  fn  1S9S-9!)  the  total  registration  in 
the  aerdemir  colleges  ah  Me  was  1717;  in  1902-0o  it  had  increased  by 
more  than  one-half,  being  in  that  year  vMiii!*.  Meanwhile  the  two-cent 
tax.  which,  in  IS!)!)  had  bei  n  just  sufficient  to  meet  the  university's 
needs,  yielded  an  income  that  increased  only  verv  slightly  from  year  to 
year.  Between  1899-1900  and  1901-1902  it  grew  by  but  4.4  per  cent. 
Had  it  not  been  for  the  grnermis  aid  of  its  private  friends,  writes  Presi- 
dent Wheeler  in  his  report  of  1900-02,  "the  university  would  have  been 
crippled  and  well-nigh  helpless.'-'  But  though  there  may  be  temporary 
t  mbarrassnieiiis.  the  historv  of  the  past  and  the  interest  of  the  present 
have  taught  the  university  to  fear  no  permanent  distress.  The  last  State 


18- 

Legislature  proved  itself  alive  !<>  the  universii  v's  needs  by  granting, 
in  addition  to  other  lesser  appropriations,  $350,000  for  the  erection  of 
an  administrative  building. 

Although  numbers  are  hardly  a  criterion  of  a  university's  worth,  it 
will  he  interesting,  nevertheless,  to  refer  to  the  table  of  comparative 
sixes  of  American  universities,  prepared  by  Professor  Albert  Bushnell 
Hart  for  the  Harvard  Graduates*  Magazine  in  1900.  "The.  list  shows 
that  in  the  number  of  undergraduates  the  Vniversity  of  California  is 
exceeded  only  by  Harvard;  in  the  grand  total  of  students,  including 
undergraduates,  professional  students  and  summer  school  students,  it 
is  exceeded  only  by  Harvard,  Columbia,  Michigan  and  Minnesota,  in  the 
order  named." 

During  President  Wheeler's  administration,  important  changes  have 
been  made  in  the  internal  structure  of  the  University.  In  1899,  a  sum- 
mer school  was  systematically  organized,  with  an  attendance  of  101 
students.  In  1900,  the  records  showed  4IW  students  registered;  in  1901. 
I'M*;  in  190:>,  830,  and  in  1903,  sr>9.  The  success  of  the  work  lias  hern 
so  marked,  especially  in  the  intercourse  which  it  establishes  with  the 
leading  men  of  Kastern  and  European  I'niversities.  that  the  summer 
school  promises  to  be  permanent. 

As  in  its  examination  of  schools  and  its  Farmers'  Institutes,  the  Vni- 
versity aimed  to  come  into  closer  touch  with  the  people  of  -the  State,  so. 
in'  1!H.)<J.  it  prepared  to  meet  the  more  popular  needs  for  instruction  and 
stimulus  by  , the  organization  of- a  Department  of  Vniversity  Kxtension. 
This  Department,  planned  largely  on  the  lines  of  the  English  system, 
has  established  centers  of  extension  work  throughout  the  State,  which 
are  visited  by  a  corps  of  lecturers  whose  duties  lie  entirely  or  mainlv  in 
the  extension  field.  The  success  in  this  work.  too.  promise.-  permanence. 

Important  for  the  professional  teaching  of  the  Vniversity  has  been 
the  wise  reorganization  of  the  Medical  Department.  In  the  past  years, 
the  Medical  College  was  perforce  compelled  to  resort  almost  entirely 
to  practicing  physicians  of  San  Francisco  for  its  instructing  body. 
While  the  etl'orts  of  the  men  who,  in  the  midst  of  their  medical  labors, 
gave  of  their  time  and  strength  to  the  College,  may  not  be  too  highly 
praised,  it  is  nevertheless  obvious  that,  excellent  as  these  efforts  were, 
they  could  not  be  made  adequate  for  a  medical  school  of  highest  scholarly 
rank.  President  Wheeler,  in  his  first  report  to  the  Board  of  Regents, 
called  attention  to  the  need  for  better  organization  of  the  Medical  Depart- 
ment, and  it  is  due  to  his  efforts  that  the  succeeding  years  have  witnessed 
an  increasingly  better  equipment  and  disposition  of  the  medical  work. 

Graduate  work  in  the  Vniversity  has  in  the  last  few  years  been  or- 
ganized with  growing  success.  Xot  only  has  the  number  of  graduate 


19 

students  increased  with  great  rapidity,  as  indicated  by  an  enrollment  of 
244  students  in  1903  as  against  64  in  1893,  but  the  work  has  come  to  be 
of  a  more  distinctly  advanced  kind  than  in  the  years  of  its  inception. 
The  departments  now  recognize  a  radical  di  (Terence  in  aim  and  methods 
between  undergraduate  and  advanced  work,  so  that  the  higher  degrees 
now  signify  not  a  mere  prolonging  of  the  period  of  residence,  but  the 
successful  completion  of  work  of  a  thoroughly  graduate  nature. 

A  factor  of  great  importance  in  the  University's  life  is  its  function 
as  a  training  school  for  prospective  teachers  of  the  State.  Bv  a  law 
of  the  State,  Boards  of  Education  and  Examination  have  authoritv  to 
issue  certificates  of  high  school  grade,  without  examination,  to  graduates 
of  the  University  who  are  recommended  by  the  Faculty.  The  operation 
of  this  law  has  been  of  utmost  benefit  to  California,  in  that  it  has  en- 
couraged the  University  to  send  forth  trained  students  into  the  high 
school  field.  The  result  has  been  not  only  a  bettering  of  the  tone  and 
scholarly  character  of  secondary  teaching,  but  also  a  securer  and  more 
sympathetic  drawing  together  of  the  University  and  high  school  forces. 
The  coming  years  bid  fair  to  witness  the  long-desired  establishment  of 
a  Teachers'  College. 

The  University  has  established  a  regular  series  of  publications  in 
each  of  the  following  departments:  Botany,  Geology,  Education, 
/oology,  Grseco-Roman  Archeology,  Egyptian  Archaeology.  American 
Archaeology  and  Ethnology,  Anthropology,  Physiology,  Pathology. 
Astronomy,  and  Agriculture.  It  also  issues,  every  quarter,  the  I'lit- 
rursify  Chronicle,  which  is  an  official  record  of  University  life. 

The  University  now  comprises  the  following  Colleges  and  Depart- 
ments : 

College  of  Letters.  College  of  Social  Sciences.  College  of  Natural 
Sciences,  College  of  Commerce,  College  of  Agriculture.  College  of 
Mechanics.  College  of  Alining.  College  of  Civil  Engineering.  College  of 
Chemistry.  Lick  Astronomical  Department,  Mark  Hopkins  Institute1  of 
Art,  Hastings  College  of  the  Law,  Medical  Department.  Post-Craduate 
Medical  Department.  Dental  Department.  California  College  of  Phar- 
macy. 

In  this  very  brief  account  of  the  University's  life,  it  has  clearly  been 
impossible  to  trace  out.  with  the  explicit  detail  that  their  importance 
warrants,  the  factors  and  forces  that  have  made  the  institution  what  it 
is.  But  bare  as  the  outlines  are,  they  may.  if  nothing  more,  serve  to 
suggest  the  peculiar  conditions  amid  which  a  State  I'niversity  is  placed. 
the  difficulties  of  its  development,  the  boundless  scope  of  its  oppor- 
tunities. The  University  of  California  has  not  made  its  way  without 
struggles  peculiar  to  an  institution  that  finds  its  support  in  the  suffrage 


20 

of  the  people.  It  is  of  the  deepest  import  to  the  cause  of  public  higher 
education  that  it  lias  won  its  support  without  truckling,  that  it  has  never 
lowered  its  ideal.-  to  temporary  puhlie  wishes,  hut  has  held  hi^h  the 
standard  of  pure  scholarship.  The  I'niversity  of  California  is  to-dav 
without  %oubt  a  permanent  factor  in  the  life  of  the  State,  and 
as  such,  the  out^oin^  of  its  influence  may  not  he  measured.  With  its 
sister  V Diversity,  it  stands  for  the  development  of  the  very  highest  in 
the  character  of  California.  It  may  he  extravagant  to  predict,  as  some 
are  pleased  to  do.  that  in  California  a  new  note  in  world  thought  and 
feeling  is  to  be  sounded — a  new  literature,  art.  philosophy.  '  Yet  it  is 
hardly  extravagant  to  feel  convinced  that  California  is  immense  in 
possibilities  of  culture,  that  her.  birth  to  a  richer  life  is  even  now  but 
just  accomplished,  while  the  greatness  of  her  days  may  scarcely  be 
foretold.  In  the  midst  of  this  youthful  promise,  the  two  vigorous 
C diversities  stand  as  nurturers  of  the  best.  If  the  life  of  the  pa>t  is 
promise  of  the  future,  California  is  assuredly  secure  in  the  hi^h 
character  of  her  University  guides. 


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Courtesy  of  Needham  Bros.,  Berkeley 


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